Day 1: Officials, traders back at work, but public stay away

A visit by DT Next to tahsildar office, Nehru Market and Lilly Pond complex near MGR Chennai Central railway station revealed that there was only about 10 per cent of the usual crowd at government offices. Local traders selling stationary items, products for pets, books among others, too, said they had only paltry business on the first day.

However, traffic on the road has picked up in central Chennai region, which houses the general hospital, and Central and Egmore railway stations.

According to a senior official from the Revenue department, the footfall and revenue collection continues to be an issue. The top brass, who had earlier pegged the revenue loss to government exchequer around Rs 35,000 crore, now feel that the loss could escalate by another Rs 5,000 crore. With Chennai reeling under COVID crisis and Tasmac shops remaining closed, the main revenue sources are badly hit.

“Registrar offices also wore a deserted look without any public movement. When I visited the

Periamet registrar office last Friday, there was no public. When I visited again on Monday, there was hardly any people there,” said CA Prabhakar, advocate, Madras High Court. Most of the registrar offices and taluk offices do not provide hand sanitisers for the public, Prabhakar said, adding that the government should ensure that the public are given hand sanitisers at least in Chennai and containment areas where the corona cases are high.

“Nehru Market is the hub for poultry and animal feed, and veterinary medicine. Due to lockdown either stocks are not available or they are overpriced,” said S Moorthi, a pet trader in Moore Market Complex. There are no new customers buying pets; only the old customers are coming to buy animal feed, the cost of which has doubled.

April – May is usually the brisk season for booksellers, but this has been one of the worst years for traders. “With schools and colleges remaining closed, almost all the bookstores in Chennai are badly hit without any buyers. There are no phone enquiries either,” said Khaja Mohammad of Khan Bookstores in Lily Pond complex. “We are opening the store to ensure that my children are fed thrice in a day. The situation is really worrisome,” added the 40-year-old bookseller.