Covid-19 lockdown throws light on plight of newspaper hawkers

Our Correspondent
Kohima, May 15 (EMN): The livelihood of newspaper hawkers in Kohima have been affected following the outbreak of the novel coronavirus pandemic as many daily newspapers in the state stopped printing for a month, as well as being barred from distributing the papers due to the nationwide lockdown.

While some of them live with their families, a majority of them in Kohima stay in groups of three to six people at different places.

Rana Chetri, the circulation in-charge for Eastern Mirror, and Ao vernacular daily, Tir Yimyim informed that about 15 hawkers have already left for their home state in Bihar.

He stated that more hawkers were about to leave for their home states had not the media houses resumed printing newspapers in the early week of May.

Chetri said that about 30% of the circulation of newspapers in Kohima was badly affected due to the lockdown. The lesser the circulation, the lesser the commission for the hawkers, he informed.

In addition to their problems, many subscribers have left for their home districts from the state capital during the inter-district movement. The hawkers have, therefore, been unable to collect the monthly subscription fee for the month of March.

Chetri informed that there are about 62 hawkers currently in Kohima and almost all of them are from the state of Bihar.

He said that so far, the state government has provided some relief in the form of food items like rice, daal and salt.

Chetri also handed over 25 kg of rice to five hawkers who were in dilemma after being left jobless during the early period of the lockdown.

Meanwhile, many people have stopped subscribing to newspapers because of the prevailing situations, which has added more misery to their plight.

Conversely, many complaints have also been received from various quarters where hawkers are restricted to drop the papers in some localities while some people have started questioning them, asking if they are the regular hawkers or new ones that came to Nagaland recently.

In this regard, Chetri has requested the media houses to issue badges to the genuine hawkers so that they can deliver newspapers at the doorsteps of the subscribers without facing any harassment.

Indrajit Kumar, who has been working as a hawker in Kohima for more than a decade, informed this newspaper that the present situation was giving him a hard time. “Since the newspapers’ circulation is dropping, we are not getting enough money,” he said, adding that the hawkers have been facing difficulties staying idle at home for many days.

Kumar, a father of three children, said that he has “incurred heavy losses since people are unsubscribing to the newspapers,” adding that the sale rate has also been subsidised.

Kumar narrated how he was sent INR 2,000 through his friend’s bank account by his parents from the village when he ran out of food. He informed that he procured some amount of rice along with dal and salt from the administration twice from the Kohima local ground. He added that he also received some essential items twice from the colony where he is residing.

“From May 6, we have started our newspaper distribution but we could not sell much as people are not coming out in the streets,” he shared. He also informed that till March 25, they were dispatching the papers at various locations.

Though locals in Kohima are giving their due payment for the monthly subscription of the dailies, many other students and people have gone to their native villages without making the payments to their dismay.

He said that though some hawkers are able to sell some few copies, the rest who deliver newspapers to places afar are still left with no option owing to the restrictions of movement of commercial vehicles.

Kumar, who could sell about 150 copies of newspaper a day, is now finding it hard to even sell 80-90 copies to customers. He is now all alone at a rented house as his relative, another hawker left Nagaland.

Amar Nath Das, another hawker who has been delivering newspapers in Kohima for 21 years, stated that the “situation has not been good,” while they have lost 30% of subscribers. Many people are also restricting them from coming to their homes to drop the papers, he added.

He also said that many subscribers have left Kohima while he can hardly sell 100 copies to readers. Das recalled that he could easily dispatch 180 newspapers before the lockdown.

Das, who lives with two other fellow hawkers in a rented home, maintained that they too received some rations from the administration at Khuochiezie as well as from the colony.

“We crossed about 13,000 km and came here (Nagaland). It has been 21 years for me as a hawker in Nagaland without being into any other occupation. So, it would be good if our plight is also taken into consideration,” he shared.

He has also requested the media houses to provide them with badges.

Since the announcement of the nationwide lockdown, newspaper hawkers were barred from distributing newspapers by the authorities of many wards/colonies over the fear that newspapers could be an avenue to contract coronavirus, though health experts and doctors refuted it.