Second wave of Covid-19 pandemic hits small businesses at the Kumbh

The second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic has punctured the resilience and recast the gloom all over again, especially among businessmen hoping to make a killing at the Kumbh Mela in Haridwar. 

Showing no signs of let-up, the second wave threatens to be fatal, spreading faster than the first, albeit with a lower mortality rate. This leaves smaller businesses gasping for air.

Even though Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister (CM) Yogi Adityanath and Uttarakhand  CM Tirath Singh Rawat are both under pressure to impose complete lockdown to break the chain of the second surge of the novel coronavirus, Kumbh Mela has already been restricted to 30 days this year, rather than running for the usual three months. 

Hundreds of thousands of ash-smeared ascetics and devout Hindus jostled to take a dip in the Ganges on Wednesday, hoping to wash away their sins, as India reported another record surge in infections.

As huge crowds made their way towards the river on a special day of bathing during the weeks-long festival, health authorities even had to pull back a Covid-19 testing crew.

For small traders and shopkeepers, the festival has been a disappointment. 

“I bought new cups and plates hoping to make a quick buck. But my hopes have got dashed,” rued Ravindra Pal, a tea seller with a kiosk in the narrow serpentine lanes of Haridwar.

Rickshaw-puller Mahandra Badai’s tale is no different.

The hospitality sector in Haridwar has also been hit hard, with most hotel bookings cancelled in the past few days over news of ‘super-spreader’ Kumbh hitting headlines.

The scene at Bara Bazar shopping area in Haridwar is gloomy. “We made investments worth lakhs. I see no hope of recovery,” says a teary-eyed Sohan Lal, who sells costume jewelry and idols.

Most local business associations claim that 80-90 per cent of pilgrims are only visiting to take the holy dip and not staying back.

“Our estimate suggests that business is nearly 50-60 per cent down in Haridwar,” says Suresh Gulati, president, Hariwar unit of the Prantiya Udyog Vyapar Pratinidhi Mandal. 

According to senior government and police officials, nearly 1-1.2 million people took the holy dip on Wednesday, lower than estimates. “We were estimating nearly 5 million pilgrims on Baisakhi alone,” said a top government official.