Vendors on flood-hit Marina Beach struggle to survive

With fewer visitors coming to the beach, vendors, who faced a sharp dip in business over the past few days, say they are fighting a tough battle to survive and make ends meet. More than 80 per cent of the makeshift stalls that dot the beach were submerged by the flood water, which had gathered in large areas of the beach. The remaining stalls that are functional share a similar tale of woe: of hardly any sales and hardships in making a living. 

Wahid, who has been selling ice cream here for the past few years, said, “Since the rains started, there has been no business at all. The beach, the road and even parts of the parking areas are flooded. People are hardly coming to the beach now.” Hemraj, who runs another kiosk, chipped in, “All the stalls have suffered as everybody has been hit by the low sales.” Nalin Khan, who peddles his wares at the beach, said the dipping sales had hurt his family’s income. “Very few people have come to the beach and they are not too interested in buying anything. It has become very difficult to earn even Rs. 100. If this goes on, I don’t know how our family will manage to make a living,” he said, dejectedly. People like Chamundeswari, who has been running a bajji stall on the beach for the past decade, have had to move their stalls closer to the road. 

“We had to move our stall from the beach to one corner of the road because a huge part of the shore is flooded. We are five people at home and the lack of income has nearly got us into debt,” she rued. Sundari, a flower seller, said, “I have been selling flowers here for the past eight years. Today, I have been out the entire day, but I have hardly managed to earn Rs. 50. My husband, who is a plumber, has also been out of work, since the past few days. There has been no money coming into the house. Making a living is becoming very difficult for us.”