For nearly six months, Karuppaiah, 55, a visually impaired person, has remained confined at home. Before COVID-19 broke out, he used to repair chairs at offices and homes. During the lockdown, some people helped him. Now, he has set up a roadside stall, selling fancy items and baskets.
Many visually impaired persons like him have begun looking for alternative ways of earning a livelihood. M. Janardhanan, a 51-year-old visually impaired person and a graduate in history, used to sell remote covers, torch-lights and car cleaning brushes on suburban trains. “For the past week, I have been selling masks at the Ennore bus stand. Since I couldn’t make much money, I decided to sell peanut candy or cleaning brushes or torchlights. I have to borrow money to buy a microphone to promote the products,” he said.
While many think it is natural for people to start a new business during a pandemic, it is extremely difficult for a visually impaired person to adapt himself/herself to a new situation, he said. “We rely on our routine. We can’t walk from one bus stand to another or from street to street. Even to purchase these items, I have to travel as far as to Central, and that’s tough,” he noted.
Some visually impaired persons sell snacks like ‘sundal’, ‘bajji’ or ‘bonda’ on the street. P. Balasubramanian, who used to sell popcorn, now plans to sell eucalyptus oil at bus stands. Though he resumed selling popcorn last week, travelling for three hours to buy it and carrying it in a bus proved to be an arduous task. Hence, he plans to switch to selling eucalyptus oil. “While we have been trying our best to somehow survive, we hope the government will improve the assistance being provided to us. All of us rely hugely on the ₹1,000 it gives us. But with the current cost of living and this pandemic, what will we do with this? We request the government to increase the assistance to ₹2,000,” he said.
