Hyderabad: Covid's second wave jolt to sugarcane vendors

Tarnaka: Despite the arrival of summer, sugarcane suppliers and vendors are still a worried lot. Surging coronavirus cases in the city may dent their prospects once again, they fear. People are already holding back on their urge to stop by and savour the much nutrient sweet delicacy.

Sugarcane wholesalers and suppliers lament that last year the Covid-induced lockdown crushed their business and now when their business was showing some hope, the unfortunate surge in cases is making them stare at a grim scenario once again.

"Last year due to the imposed lockdown we were forced to throw our sugarcane. But this year even though there is no lockdown we are still facing the similar problem. As the season arrived I stocked up 12 tonnes of sugarcane, but due to Covid we hardly have any customers," said Krishna Yadav, a sugarcane supplier in Basheerbagh.

Meanwhile, the traffic police have become another threat as they are restricting them from selling sugarcane juice on streets.With very few customers, a sugarcane supplier Venkat Rao, who earlier in summers needed at least two loads of sugarcane a day, now requires less than half the load once in three days.

A sugarcane juice seller at King Koti, who hopes that the business picks up in next two months, said that the police is not allowing them to run their stalls on the streets."Earlier during summers I would earn Rs 500 to Rs 800 every day but now due to the current pandemic and harassment from traffic police I am hardly earning Rs 300. If this continues, I don't think I would be able to repay my loan of Rs 10,000 under the PM SVANidhi scheme.

On several occasions we have given representation to the officialsconcerned for some relief, but to no avail," bemoaned K Nataraj, a sugarcane juice seller at RamKoti.