Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, August 25:
The Imphal market has been paralyzed to a great extent and small traders including women vendors from the far flung areas who used to earn their livelihood from the markets have also been suffering intolerably due to the ongoing transport strike since August 12 last.
With not many buyers reaching Imphal, the sales made by the small traders, including women vendors who have come from distant places paying the inflated rate of transport charges, touched the lowest mark making huge amount of loses.
Some shopkeepers even shut down their shutters as few customers came to them.
The worst affected group of people in the society during the ongoing transport strike due to the non-availability of petrol and diesel are the daily wage earning laborers and small traders from the distant villages.
Some of the women vendors while talking to reporters today said that they are now facing transportation problem to reach Imphal early in the morning.
They come to the city and return home with the help of any available means of transport like tractors, auto-rickshaws and others.
The women traders sometimes make huge amount of loses due to the inflated transport charge.
An auto-rickshaw coming from Moirang to Imphal would charge a minimum of Rs 300 from five such traders at a time, they said.
Even in Imphal city, the rickshaw pullers over-charged than the usual rate of fares.
This has also given an impact on the women vendors who have also to sell their commodities without much profit as there is less number of buyers, they said.
The condition is the same for the shops in the city.
As there is less number of buyers, the shopkeepers do not regularly open the shops.
Many shops at the Paona International Moreh Market were sometimes remaining closed as the shopkeepers were loitering nearby during the marketing hours in the day time.