HYDERABAD : Masks are off, business down. It’s time for a reality check for traders sitting on unsold stocks of masks running into crores since the state officially allowed people to unmask.
Nearly ₹5 crore to ₹15 crore worth of masks are stockpiled in godowns across the city, according to wholesalers and retailers. Most traders are now on the horns of a dilemma — hold on or dispose them and cut their losses.
For Sriram Tiwari, a trader from Begum Bazar, it is time to shift his business back to selling general goods to make up for the dwindling sales of masks.
Like Tiwari, there are nearly 50 traders in Begum Bazar who ventured into the mask business as sales soared along with the pandemic. In the last two years, nearly every bylane of Begum Bazar, among the largest commercial hubs in the country, was stacked with rows of sellers with masks on tables as Covid surged.
While big traders are looking at massive losses, the roadside seller is staring at his daily livelihood vanishing along with the masks
“My entire livelihood depends on this. I used to earn ₹500 daily. Now there is no business,” said Bhaktdas, a petty vendor from Begum Bazar earlier into seconds sale of inner wear.
Rajesh Agarwal, a leading hosiery trader in Begum Bazar, told TOI: “My business was good between May 2020 and November 2021, selling ₹50,000-80,000 worth masks in a day. It is now difficult to earn ₹3,000 a day. ”
He added: “Different varieties of masks were bought from leading companies in the country and dumped in godowns. I have even paid ₹20 lakh freight charges, which is double the normal charges, to bring masks during lockdowns. ”
Satyram Rathod, who has been selling bags and plastic material for three decades in Begum Bazar, has nearly 60% of his shop covered in masks worth nearly ₹50 lakh. Apart from looking at distress sale, Rathod said he may donate it to old age homes or orphana- ges in the city.
“Let’s wait and see what happens in the coming days. The masks are made of clot- hes so they won’t spoil. The central government has also not totally discarded the mask rule,” Rathod said.
