Pandemic forces farmer to struggle for daily meal

SHILLONG: The COVID-19 pandemic, which originated in the Wuhan province of China and gradually spread it deadly wings across the globe, has left a trail of devastation by wreaking economies of even financially strong nations and crashing markets. But it is mostly farmers, petty businessmen and daily bread earners who have taken the biggest hit.
While business houses and companies can take recourse to government policies and avail financial aids or bank loans, those who live from hand to mouth have none to wipe their tears.
On Wednesday, this scribe came across a woman selling vegetables and flowers on the footpath near the Fire Brigade ground.
The woman, who did not want to reveal her name, said that she comes down to the city every day from Smit to earn for herself and her family. Hopelessness writ large on her face, she did not have enough words to explain her sufferings at the hands of the pandemic.
She said that out of her meagre earnings, she has to spend Rs 200 daily on taxi to ferry her produce to the city in the morning and take the unsold vegetables back to Smit in the evening.
She revealed that the pandemic has wrought misery on her family and there were occasions when she has fed rice, water and salt to her children as she could not manage enough money to provide more for them.
The woman said that before the COVID crisis, she used to sell her produce at Smit but the pandemic has forced her to venture further out and look for greener pastures in Shillong.
Incidentally, the COVID pandemic has also offered entrepreneurial opportunity to the woman, who has now entered into a partnership with a young flower seller from Upper Shillong.
The young woman told this scribe that her business has taken a hit following the pandemic and now they have decided to do business together to tide over the crisis with prayers on their lips for some divine intervention.