SHILLONG: It is always about survival of the fittest and the healthcare crisis owing to the coronavirus pandemic has created just the right environment to prove one’s mettle.
On the way to Madan Laban from Last Stop is the vehicle of B Nongsiej parked along the road. Nongsiej and her sister are bringing their vehicle full of dry fish, vegetables and fruits to Laban because of the lockdown. “Otherwise we sell in Lumparing and Bishnupur,” said Nongsiej, a resident of Lumparing.
She said the vegetables and fruits were from Bara Bazar and the betel nut and betel leaves were from Lumparing.
Nongsiej and her family are not the only ones who are trying to improvise business strategies or find alternatives to survive in the trying times.
Runningstone L Nonglait and Umesh Singh are among the taxi drivers in the city who are looking for an alternative way to earn livelihood in the time of lockdown when public transport has been stopped completely. “We have families and children and we need some income. I drive this taxi that is owned by someone else. Now I am using it to sell vegetables and fruits. My relatives are helping to do this,” said Nonglait, whose taxi was parked along the road the Laban-Lumparing road.
Nonglait was selling greens procured from Bara Bazar and “they are all fresh as I got it from the market this morning”, he said as he attended another customer, a local from Lumparing. “I have been selling vegetables for the last four days. There is no income for taxi drivers and we need to find a way out to survive. I have two children and there are many like me who have found an alternative. For vegetables, I have to reach Bara Bazar by 5-6 am,” said Nonglait.
Despite the district administration’s notifications and curfew relaxation, small-time traders and vendors are facing problem in buying farm produce from dealers in Bara Bazar. Nonglait, who is among the vendors whom The Shillong Times spoke to, narrated his story. “We cannot take our vehicle till the market because the police chase us away. They stop our cars and harass us. We have to carry the items from Bara Bazar to Last Stop. It is difficult but we have no other option,” said Nonglait, who is yet to get the monetary benefit from the government. “We have to speak to the Dorbar Shnong,” he said when he was informed that help can come from the local administration.
Singh and his friends get their vegetables from Laitlyngkot. “We all have taxis but as vehicles cannot move around now we are selling vegetables,” he said.
They have their pick-up van and take it around localities like Laban, Oxford, Rilbong and Bishnupur to sell vegetables. “We are selling the greens at a reasonable price and unlike other vendors or shops, we have not hiked the prices,” said Singh as his friends, Riborlong Dohtdong and Rantu Das, nodded in agreement.
Thanks to the crisis-time traders and vendors that the common people are getting their supply of nutrients. “I am a regular buyer here and there has been no shortage of greens so far. My three-member family is surviving on whatever we are getting from this mobile veggie shop. Both me and my husband are jobless now,” said R Sohtun, a lady resident of Lumparing, who came to Nonglait’s mobile shop.
Besides the individual initiatives, the government’s 1917 iTeams is also bridging the demand-supply gap in this time of restrictions. Regional Jyrwa, who works for iTeams, said he has been collecting vegetables and fruits from farmers since the lockdown and distributing in Bara Bazar.
“The farmers call me and I take my vehicle to their place. I take the petrol and other costs from the farmers, who get paid by the government. This service helps both the farmers and the consumers,” said Jyrwa.
