Cosmetics no longer in big demand

PK Jaiswar

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, June 12

Sonu, a cosmetic shop owner, is thinking about changing his ‘line’ if the current economic crisis continues for months. “Daily, we come to our shop risking contracting the deadly virus but earning negligible as compared to normal days. We are even unable to pay salary to our lone employee who has been with us for a long time now,” he pointed out.

A resident of Pishori Sari Wali Gali near Bharawan Da Dhaba in the walled city, he said community spread had left the people scared. “Many areas in the walled city were quarantined and sealed after positive cases of the novel coronavirus came there. We faced difficulty from coming out of the walled city and reaching the shop,” he said.

Earlier, we could earn anything between Rs 2,000-3,000 a day. But now, we are earning just Rs 200 to Rs 300 a day. “How we will survive in the future if the situation remains same for the next several months,” he said with anxiety writ large on his face.

Sonu has been running the shop for the past three decades. After the death of his father and grandfather, he inherited the shop and was doing brisk business before Covid-19 pandemic hit the country resulting in country-wide lockdown.

After a two month gap due to curfew restrictions, we recently opened the shop located in the main bazaar of Putlighar area. As the period broke the circle of economy with markets, entire industrial units and institutions were closed, it hit us as well. “We hope that the situation will improve once the markets are opened and people come out of their houses,” Sonu said.

Due to the unprecedented health crisis, the priority of people have changed while the spending power has come down considerably.

“Earlier, people used to stress on quality, but nowadays they compromise and want things that are lower in price because of budget constraints,” he said. Earlier, people used to take nail paints and lipsticks now preferred not to purchase these ‘non-essential’ items.