Krishna Sahni, 50, a resident of Chiragora in Dhanbad, used to sell chowmein on a food cart near his house, earning around Rs 400 per day.

His family of five — two daughters aged 20 and 8, an 18-year-old son, his wife who is 46 and himself — was not rich but they used to get by. The Covid-19 pandemic and the consequent lockdown has, however, compelled him to start selling vegetables to somehow sustain his family.

“I had savings of around Rs 10,000 which I spent on food, medicine, house rent and other expenses and have completely exhausted it during the first phase of the lockdown itself,” said Sahni. “I got a cue from other chaat sellers and started selling vegetables. We somehow earn Rs 100 to 150 a day since then, which is not sufficient, but is somehow helping us sustain ourselves.”

Asked whether he had received two months of ration or not, he said: “Yes, but do you think that only food grains are enough to sustain life? There are a lot of other expenses like oil, spices, refilling of LPG cylinders, electricity charges, and medical needs too.”

Echoing his sentiments, Raju Barnwal, 35, a resident of Vinod Nagar locality of Dhanbad town, said: “I had a small shop selling mobile phone accessories at Hirapur Hatia through which I had an average earning of around Rs 300 per day. I have responsibilities of my familyconsisting of seven members — my paralysed father, 65, my 60-year-old mother, three sons aged 10, 8 and 3, and my wife who is 32.

“Within a fortnight after the lockdown was announced, I lost all my savings and had to think of how to earn money. I started selling vegetables around a month back and am somehow earning around Rs 100 per day to eke out a living,” said Barnwal.

“The experience of vegetable selling was bitter in the initial phase. I suffered losses as I did not have the knowledge as to how much should I procure. I now have learnt the ropes and keep a variety of vegetables in small quantities,” he added.

While the rise of new vegetable sellers, who are visiting different localities carrying carts, is making the life of the people buying vegetables easier, the already existing vegetable sellers are suffering losses.

Vinod Sao, 66, a resident of Chiragora in Dhanbad who has been selling vegetables in Hirapur Hatia since the last three to four decades, is a case in point.

“My father started the business during the early 1970s but with the administration denying permission of vegetable selling in Hirapur Hatia due to lack of space for maintaining social distance, I am selling vegetables near my house but am suffering losses of more than 75 per cent of income due to the increase in the number of vegetable sellers.”