A 46-year-old man now wakes up at 3am and goes to Burrabazar’s Mechua fruit market with his brother-in-law to buy fruits. He then readies his makeshift stall by the roadside in Kasba’s Haltu and sells fruits till 2pm.

The trader (Metro is withholding his identity) is not a fruit seller. He owns a small jewellery store on Fern Road near Gariahat, which he has been running for over 20 years. With the earnings from the store, he had bought a flat in 2006 and sent his only daughter to a reputable school.

The daughter is appearing for the CBSE Class XII exams, which remain incomplete because of the lockdown forced by the coronavirus.

The man’s earnings first took a major knock after the demonetisation of November 2016. Then came the blow from the GST.

Finally, when the Covid-19 pandemic struck, he had no option but to look for an alternative source of earning.

“My cash reserve dipped so much that if I did not use the small amount I was left with to start a small trade, I would not have been able to buy the basic food for my family,” he said. “Lockdown is needed but I also need to feed my family. I am exposing myself to the risk of catching the coronavirus by visiting the congested wholesale market daily, but these are desperate times.”

His jewellery business, which he used to run out of a 4ftX9ft store, had taken a major hit after the demonetisation and the implementation of the GST regime, he said.

“Profit came down by almost half after the two blows,” he said. “Business never looked up again but I was still carrying on, hoping better days would eventually come.”

The lockdown hit him the hardest. “I had to chose another way of earning,” he said.

The trader had six goldsmiths working for him on a contract basis. Their wages are due, he said, and they often fight with him over the phone for payment.

“I have more than Rs 35 lakh due from customers and the market. Most of my customers buy on credit and pay in instalments every month. Because of Poila Baisakh (April 14) and Akshay Tritiya (April 26), I had made a lot of investments, too,” he said.

Apart from buying gold, he had also placed orders for calendars and diaries. Unlike big jewellery chains, he does not have the means to carry on despite hefty dues.

“All my money is gone into that investment. Problem is there are no buyers and we can’t eat gold,” he said.

In desperation, he tried to collect ration from a public distribution system outlet in his area but failed because of documentation problems.

He was wondering what to do. “Police would not allow me to open my jewellery shop. So, my plan to use it for selling essential items did not work out,” he said.

A friend, a travel agent in Delhi, had made a video call recently showing him how he was selling vegetables. “I got the idea from him,” he said.

Every morning he rides his motorcycle to Mechua to buy fruits and sell them by the roadside. He is making enough to support his family of four.

“I feel embarrassed and so do my family members but I keep telling them that this is a temporary phase and I will think of doing something else when things get better,” he said.

The trader is thankful to his mask, not just for shielding him from infection but also recognition. “The mask is helping me avoid being suddenly recognised by someone from our locality,” he said.