Many turn veggie sellers for survival

Tribune News Service
Bathinda, May 7

The Covid-19 pandemic is not only affecting people’s health but also forcing them to change profession. Facing losses, a widow, who was running a salon, has turned into a vegetable seller to earn livelihood for her family.

Surinder Kaur, 34, of Model Town Phase-1 here, is selling vegetables on the footpath near her house after she lost business. She wakes up at 4 am and buys vegetables from the wholesale market to later sell those in the Model town area.

“It is a matter of survival. My husband died earlier, so now I alone take care of our daughter and my ailing mother. I need to pay my daughter’s school fee and buy medicines for my mother. It was getting difficult to pay the house rent also. But now I will be able to manage things,” says Surinder.

Vishal Kumar, a construction labourer, says: “Due to the lockdown, I am sitting at home for the past 10-15 days. I don’t see the situation improving anytime soon. So, now I sell vegetables and fruits to survive.” Similarly, Gurdeep Singh, who lost his job as a salesman at a cloth shop in the city along with his wife, has taken to selling vegetables from his house.