A surge in novel coronavirus cases during the Delta variant-driven fourth wave compelled the Sindh government to once again impose a province-wide lockdown. From July 31 to the August 8, all businesses big and small – save for restaurants, bakeries, pharmacies and medical stores, and grocery stores – were to remain closed in Sindh. The essential businesses that were exempt from this restriction could only remain open for a 12-hour window, between 6am and 6pm.
For those struggling to make ends meet in the best of days, the abrupt announcement by the provincial government came as yet another drastic setback. Both the province’s business community and daily-wage earners viewed the move with serious reservations and their patience appeared to run thin. Though the major markets and business centres of Sukkur, Khairpur, Shikarpur, Ghotki, Kandhkot, Kashmore and others were officially closed, business as usual carried on behind lowered shutters.
Driven to desperation
No doubt the worst affected in all rounds of lockdowns are those who for daily wages, either at various shops or independently by providing services as masons, painters, plumbers, laborers, etc. When the latest lockdown was in full swing, a visit to the markets of Sukkur revealed many daily-wage earners stationed themselves outside closed shops, hoping against hope for some work.
“There are no Covid cases in Sukkur and its adjoining cities and towns,” proclaimed a frustrated Mohammad Hanif, who when businesses are open works at an electronics shop for a daily wage and has not been paid since July 31. “What was even the need for implementing a lockdown throughout the province?” he said, his desperation to earn something for his family outweighing his patience.
Sitting close by on the stairs of a shop was Irshad Ali, a mason by profession. “If the Sindh government wanted us to stay at home, then it should at least have provided us with some rations,” he suggested. “On normal days, I can make up to Rs1,200 a day,” he shared. “I haven’t been able to earn a single rupee in four days. How am I supposed to feed my family?” he asked.
Behind lowered shutters
Those like Hanif and Irshad, whose livelihoods are precarious even when things carry on as normal, bear the brunt of business closures. On the flip side, however, are those that run their own businesses. Lockdown or not, they have found a way to keep some money flowing. With the shutters of their shops lowered or even closed, they carried on business as usual in secret, flaunting the province-wide restrictions.
This was especially true in the case of wholesale cloth markets, where business activities never stopped for a minute during lockdown. As the wholesale cloth market in Sukkur attracts buyers from the nearby cities, towns and villages, the shopkeepers could not afford to keep the market closed except on Fridays. According to one of the shopkeepers who worked in the market, business continued with shutters half open. “Whenever the police came to visit the area, the shopkeepers pulled the shutters down,” he confessed. “Sometimes, a shopkeeper was caught red-handed dealing with the customers, but he would bribe the policemen to get rid of them.”
Another shopkeeper, Shahzad narrated the same story. “Our business mostly runs on debt. Our customers mostly belong to the outskirts of the city or from others cities and towns, and every time they come to buy clothes, they have to clear their debt first,” he said. “In case he finds our shop closed, he will go to some other shop and buy clothes and because of that, we not only lose a regular customer but we also have to wait for him to clear our payment.”
Begging for change
Another most affected section of society were the beggars, who keep roaming from one market to the other while begging for money. According to beggar Mai Kabotari, she normally manages to collect up to Rs 1,000 or more on a daily basis in the form of charity from shoppers however, due to closure of the markets, her income has shrunk to Rs200 or Rs300 a day. “Why does the government want to eliminate the poor instead of the poverty,” she said. Similar were the sentiments of Taju, who said that the traders of the Sarrafa Bazar give more charity as compared to the others. “Our business has ended due to the closure of Sarafa Bazar,” he claimed.
Like the beggars, the drug addicts and scavengers, who usually roam the electronics market in search of empty cardboard cartons and other recyclable refuse, were badly impacted by the lockdown as well. Anwar roams the electronic market in order to collect empty cardboard cartons. Upon asking before lockdown, Anwar used to collect at least 10 to 15 kilogram of empty cardboard cartons and earned Rs 250 to 350 a day after selling those cartons. “Since the lockdown, I haven’t found a single empty cardboard carton so for the time being I have started begging,” he said.
Service at your doorstep
The owners of men and women’s hair and beauty salons have learnt to adapt their business model in times of lockdown. Robina who runs a beauty salon says, her salon has begun offering home service. “Our regular customers give us a call and staff goes to their homes to provide the service,” she said. “I have to pay salaries to my staff and if I close my business, it would difficult for me to pay them. You know necessity is the mother of invention”, she said with a smile.
Abdul Raheem runs a barbershop in the downtown area and instead of sitting back at home, he too has started providing home service since the lockdown. “There are four employees working at my shop and therefore I have started home service to counter the negative effect of the lockdown,” he said. “In this way not only are my workers are earning more but I too am happy with this arrangement because we charge more for visiting home,” he said.
“The lockdown has also become troublesome for the pan chewers because most of the pan shops have remained closed due to lockdown,” said Ayaz. Ayaz Mirani and Ashraf run a pan shop and have facilitated their customers through home delivery. According to Ayaz, they have more than 100 regular customers and to keep them to keep providing them with pan, they have started taking orders over the phone. The customers have to pay an additional Rs50 for home delivery and Ayaz’s employee takes the orders on his motorcycle to deliver them to the customers.
Lockdown and disparity
According to President Sukkur Development Alliance and Sukkur Small Traders Jawed Memon, “The provincial government must have considered the hardships of the small traders and daily wagers before choosing to impose a complete lockdown throughout the province. However, big businessmen and traders could survive such lockdowns but middle and lower middle-class people and especially the daily wagers are badly affected from this decision.”
“The Sindh government should revisit its decision and announce lifting of the lockdown, otherwise poor daily wagers will not die due to Covid but from hunger,” he said.
President All Small Traders Haji Mohammad Haroon Memon strongly criticised the Sindh government for imposing a lockdown throughout the province. “It is an attempt to cause harm to the country’s economy. The federal government has taken concrete efforts to better the economy, but Sindh government’s decision to impose a lockdown is sabotaging it,” he said. “First of all, aside from Karachi, there are no or few cases of Covid in upper and lower Sindh. The government should have identified those areas of Karachi and implemented a smart lockdown,” he said. “What is the use of slapping lockdown throughout the province? The Sindh government must think sensibly and desist from taking such decisions without consulting the trade bodies.”
Similar to the lockdown, many are still against the Covid vaccine too. Those who are concerned about safety are getting their jabs from the nearest government hospital, however many others still remain unconvinced. Some have even found a way around the mandatory vaccination rule and getting fake vaccination cards made. Many have in fact acquired forged vaccination cards from Civil Hospital Sukkur however, when asked about the allegation, Assistant Medical Superintendent Civil Hospital Sukkur Dr Shahid Iqbal brushed aside the allegation and said, “Not a single such case has taken place in my hospital. But if such practice is being done in other hospitals, I cannot help it.”
According to District Health Officer Sukkur Dr Jameel Mahar, “The vaccination has been made available to all the government hospitals and now we have taken private hospitals in the loop to further boost up the job,” he said. “The vaccination is available at all the Basic Health Units to facilitate the villagers living in the vicinity.” On a question about vaccinating the people living in the katcha riverine area, Dr Mahar said that they must visit their nearby town or city to get the shot.
It should be noted here that around two million people are living in the katcha area of Sindh amid lack of civic facilities spreading from Guddu barrage to Kotri barrage. The people living in the katcha are playing great role in the development of agriculture sector by providing bumper crops such as wheat and vegetables but in return have not been provided with any health or educational necessities.