With no tourists, city’s handicraft shops struggle to survive

SHILLONG: With the ban on tourists to the state, the city’s handicraft shops are struggling to survive.
The handicraft shops have always been the attraction for the tourists, who would pick up the antique items to take home.
Ujjal Agarwal, the owner of Megha Emporium, said that there is hardly any sale currently though it is a tourist season.
“We used to earn Rs 30,000 daily during pre-COVID period due to the frequent visit of tourists, but now we hardly have ten per cent of the business”, Agarwal said.
According to Agarwal, some local customers do visit the shops, but the revenue generated is less.
In this context, Agarwal has decided to sell items like hand sanitisers and masks in his shop.
P Swer, the owner of Khasi emporium in Police Bazar, said that the loss due to the COVID-19 crisis is huge.
“I have to pay a rent of over Rs 30,000 and the business is dull but I am somehow managing”, he said.
Swer said that there were six workers at the emporium but now he can employ only three.