A day after the opening of garmen, and footwear shops as per the state government order, saloon and beauty parlour operators of Dhanbad today protested for permission to start business.

The protestors who congregated at Randhir Verma Chowk situated less than 500 meters away from the district headquarters, under the banner of Nai Samaj Sangh, submitted a memorandum to the district collectorate, demanding immediate permission from chief minister Hemant Soren.

Talking to the media, Dilip Thakur, a saloon operator of Jharudih area said more than 1000 saloon, parlour operators of the district are on the verge of starvation due closure of their shops since the Janta Curfew on March 20.

“We have a limited income and therefore had little savings which we lost during the initial one month lockdown and then started borrowing money to somehow feed our family” said Thakur, adding that very few of them have ration cards.

Even those who have ration cards had to borrow money for other expenses like the treatment of their ailing family members as food is not the only requirement and medical care is equally important.

“Without a penny of income during the last three days I had to seek the financial help for sustaining life from my elder brother who works as a vocalist in an orchestra group. But as stage performances and congregations were also prohibited during the lockdown, he also could not help me much due to his own limited savings,” said Jharia saloon owner Ramesh Sharma.

“If the present situation continues, we will be compelled to beg for alms with a bowl in hand,” said Sharma, adding that in other states like Bihar, saloons have been allowed to operate.

“We are ready to obey all social distancing norms and sanitise our equipment and installations as per laid provision” said president of Nai Samaj Sangh, Dinanath Thakur, adding that if the government can allow garment shop owners to operate, than there is no reason for discrimination against them.

“We would further demand the government to provide us compensation worth Rs 25,000 to each saloon parlour if the restrictions continue so that we can sustain our life,” said Thakur.