COPING MECHANISM

OF STREET VENDORS
IN COVID-19

Umang Dubey- Kanishk Nema

Roll no. B184, B147
INTRODUCTION

• The spread of COVID19 has certainly led to a severe drop in community economic turnover
in all regions including Kharghar.” After applying social or physical distancing policies, the
immediate impact is on the tourism, transportation, services, trade, financial and industrial
sectors. “The effects of the economic crisis were so widespread that workers were threatened
with layoffs.
• The current pandemic has had a major impact on many elements of society, including the
economic and educational sectors. According to this study, those who are affected by the
pandemic are making attempts and using techniques. Street vending methods are one of them,
and they are continuing in use during the COVID-19 outbreak.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS

• 1. How did Street Vendors cope with the COVID-19 pandemic?

• 2. What difficulties do these street merchants encounter in obtaining finance and
surviving the pandemic?
• 3. What security, and harassment issues do they have to deal with?
• 4. What were the changes occurred in daily life's of Street vendors?
 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

 This is a response to how the informant implements the coping plan for a year during
the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. This research examines the position of street vendors
in Kharghar during COVID-19 using primary data. Researchers may get a subjective
grasp of the COVID-19 pandemic scenario as psychological stress experienced by the
participant using the case study design, which includes bans on human mobility and
restrictions on public areas. The survey was place in the first week of April 2022. Street
vendors in Kharghar are the study's unit of analysis and major stakeholder.
 SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC AND ECONOMIC PROFILE OF THE STREET VENDORS:

• The sex composition of the street vendors in the study area demonstrates around 80% of vendors are Male and 20%
vendors are female. While, the percentage of street vendors who were non locals and migrated from different states
of northern India were 70%, Local Street vendors were only 30%.

EDUCATION PROFILE

• The educational level among street vendors is generally low which has been shown in table. Out of total covered
Street vendors around 32% street vendors are Illiterate. 48% of total vendors can roughly read and sign and
remaining 20% vendors have only completed Primary education.
 ECONOMIC PROFILE

The monthly income of street vendors before the pandemic was queried in the survey. It is recorded that about
28% of street vendors earn between 5,000 and 10,000, 60% of street vendors earn between 10,000 and 12,000
from 20,000 to 30,000. About 62.5% of sellers in total manage by depositing savings in banks and cooperatives,
while 36% of sellers manage their social protection by borrowing from various sources with exorbitant interest
rate about 310%/month. In addition, some sellers are paying interest on their debt over the course of the
decade, who have borrowed for welfare purposes. Impressively, about 12% of all have life insurance policies.
FINDINGS
• The decline in consumer activities in the community led to the reduction in sales they
earned. Reducing these sales has certainly led to the income rate of income of culture
to reduce the impotence of unofficial industry agents to meet their family needs and
reach household costs. Schools or universities are strategic places to find consumers
of products/goods sold by merchants/peddlers.

• The existence of the activities of students can greatly affect the income of traders.
With the existence of schools, traders also do not need to worry about finding a
crowded place to sell their goods to achieve the return of the capital. Meanwhile,
when all schools and colleges in India, including those in Kharghar, were closed to
prevent the spread of COVID19, Street Vendors who used to sell near school and
colleges admitted that their sales turnover had decreased drastically and sometimes
it was difficult for them to return their initial capital.
• In the survey it was noticed that many of Migrant Street vendors travelled
back to their hometown as it was very difficult for them to cope up without
money and work. 30% of total street vendors migrated back to their
hometowns. Out of the people who migrated, 40% joined daily wage
farming and remaining 60% did small labour works in their hometown
during the time of pandemic.

• Majority of Local Street vendors changed their business, of them left street
vending and started to work in transportation loading, remaining started
home delivery of fruits and vegetables. Street vendors were also asked if
the policy formulated by Government during Covid19, benefitted them or
not, 60% street vendors responded positively that some or other
government scheme provided them help during the tough times of Covid.
To make up for the lack of buyers, merchants choose to relocate their sales to a more
strategic location. As a result, people who previously only resided in one place are
now looking for buyers to sell their wares directly or are moving to other areas. To
some, this may seem like a no-brainer. Traders that used to stay, now prefer to move,
and traders who normally settle in strategic locations now have to sell from door to
door or from place to place. People selling their wares at the kiosks were also affected
by a shortage of buyers, which eventually caused them to leave their rented premises
and stay for several years as a result of the policy. The choice to move to a more
strategic location at this point is a choice made by actors in the informal sector. The
choice of merchants to leave their rented place for several years is often considered
unreasonable by others. While according to those who have already felt the impact of
the lack of buyers due to the large-scale implementation of the restrictive housing
policy, moving to a more strategic location is a sensible option.
CONCLUSION

The post-COVID-19 world must acknowledge the role of vendors in addressing urban food
security even as India grapples to feed the millions that the extended lockdown has left hungry.
Government emergency supplies are just relief measures, what we need to do is make street
vending robust and harness the power of vendors as critical links in supply chains. Only then will
we able to avert the food security and employment crisis, that currently stares us in the face. . All
sellers survive on their savings or by borrowing from others at high interest rates. Thus, it can be
said that social security is the basic need. Better working environment in terms of occupational
safety and health and safety; access to official credit institutions; and through strong social
dialogue Street vendors are not only trying to make a living, but also provide valuable services to
the townspeople. As such, the State has the duty to protect the right of this population to earn a
living since Article 39(a) of the Constitution provides that "every citizen, male and female, has an
equal right to live.
THANK YOU