It’s Not Business As Usual For Street Food Vendors In Bhubaneswar

It’s Not Business As Usual For Street Food Vendors In Bhubaneswar

The COVID-19 outbreak and consequent lockdown have been particularly bad for street food business in Odisha with many vendors losing their source of income.

The scenario hasn’t improved much even after the recent unlock. Street vendors are finding it extremely difficult to revive their business, according to Bhubaneswar-based applied research start-up Quantum Leap Studio.

Sharing their stories of hardships, the vendors said although people have started to step out now, many are hesitant to eat gupchup, chaat, dahibara, momos, etc. outside. Also, people have cut down on eating meat and this has added to the unfavourable condition. 

Besides schools, colleges and universities are closed, robbing the vendors of their regular customers except for the occasional working professionals.

Unable to cope with the situation, many vendors have switched to selling vegetables, eggs and groceries that are in demand. Some have even started door-to-door deliveries to ensure sustainability.

No wonder the buzzing food carts outside malls, offices, bus stops and on the roadsides are missing from their regular haunts stretching from Nalco square to KIIT square in Bhubaneswar.

“As long as the situation doesn’t improve, our business won’t revive properly. People are scared to go out and eat out,” rued Jogendra Das, a 50-year-old vendor.

A former panipuri seller, Jogendra now sells corn to eke out a living. “The income from this seasonal business is very less. Unfortunately, I lost the receipt for the fine I had paid to continue my business at Shaheed Nagar. It would have got me some government assistance,” he said.

But he hasn’t lost hope completely. “The situation is equally bad for everyone right now. But I will figure something out,” he added.

Manoj, an ice-cream seller, had come to Bhubaneswar to join an ice-cream factory just before the lockdown. Unfortunately, he couldn’t find work and decided to change course. “I had to pay the rent, but there was no money. But I didn’t want to wait for help and so I took charge of an ice-cream cart,” he said. Manoj said he barely earns enough to manage food. However, a slight increase in sales lately keeps his hopes alive.

It is ‘hope’ that also keeps Apura Sahoo going despite lean sales. He has been setting up his stall selling sweet corn in front of Ramadevi Women’s University for 20 years now. “I used to sell 300-350 corn every day before the pandemic. Now the business has gone down and I barely manage to sell around 150 corns a day. But I am hopeful that things will change for good very soon,” he said.

Well, these vendors can certainly take heart from the recent case of ‘Baba ka Dhaba’ in Delhi’s Malviya Nagar. 

The aftermath of the pandemic had badly affected this street-side eatery run by an octogenarian couple, Kanta Prasad and Badami Devi. Their fortune, however, changed overnight thanks to the power of social media.

A heart-wrenching video by food blogger Gaurav Wasan went viral, bringing hundreds of people to Baba ka Dhaba to relish on home-cooked food.

The incident shows that extending small individual help can contribute in bringing a huge difference. There are countless street vendors in localities who are enduring hard to make ends meet and you can help.

(Bytes by Neha Jha)