A flourishing small business, ‘Perumal Tasty Fish’, of millet rotis and fish curries in the old town of Anantapur, a traditional combination of non-veg lovers in these parts of Rayalaseema, collapsed with the onset of the pandemic, and the second wave of COVID-19 literally turned the couple – Kunche Perumal and Nirmala – helpless.
Their fresh live fish sale business in the morning hours also met with the same fate as there were no takers during the lockdown. The crisis-hit couple, however, did not lose heart like many others but shifted to fresh fruits business. Even that did not click due to the limited curfew relaxation hours.
Perumal then turned his autorickshaw into a mobile grocery store. He stocked the goods carrier vehicle with all essentials from pulses, millets and onions to masala powders and made inroads into the nearby villages. Each day they ventured into three to four villages from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. As they bought all the materials from the wholesale market in Anantapur, they were able to give quality products at a comparatively less price than the one-odd kirana shop in the villages.
“In the last three months we have been selling not less than ₹8,000 a day with decent returns after all expenses, including the fuel for the vehicle,” Mr. Perumal told The Hindu at Raminepalli village in Rapthadu mandal. To make the business more attractive and sustainable for the couple, they began accepting broken plastic chairs or other material that people wished to dispose of and gave them an equivalent amount of groceries or cash. Soon, they began making money by carrying the waste in their empty auto in the evening and selling it to an aggregator.
“God opened a new door for us though three doors got closed in the line of activity we have been pursuing for a long time,” says Ms. Nirmala, thanking the almighty.
