Daijiworld Media Network – Moodbidri (MS)

Moodbidri, May 21: The video of a renowned textile merchant of the city in which he explains the severe blow the textile industry has suffered due to the lockdown, has gone viral on social media.

Textile merchant Sadashiva Nellimar is the person who has made this video. He has further accused the government of giving importance only to grocery stores and not considering the plight of other traders.

In the video Sadashiv Nellimar says, “Lockdown of the state government is like appeasing a certain section of traders. Poor cloth merchants have incurred lacs of rupees of loss. The cloth and textile merchants should have been given the relaxation to open their shops like other essential item traders.

“We had piled up huge stock depending on the season-based business on which we make profits. If the fashion becomes old, customers will not buy clothes. Then we have to sell them at half rate and make losses. When the cloth shops were allowed to open last year it was rainy season (Ashada month). During Ramzan also people did not buy due to Covid issue.

“Last year, during the beginning of first wave, some media and political parties had accused Muslim community that Tablighis are responsible for spreading the coronavirus in the country. That is why the community did not buy clothes during Ramzan, which has caused a loss of Rs 1,000 crore of GST to the country. Only God knows the plight suffered by medium class cloth merchants like us due to Covid and senseless decision of lockdown taken by the government.

“Thousands have people are jobless. Out of the 18 people I had with me in my shop, I could retain only five as there was no business. We have given employment to people who are not much educated. Cloth merchants like me are in dire straits not able to pay the bank loan as well as manage household expenses,” he says in the video.