BMC Crackdown Sparks Livelihood Fears Among Bhopal Beauticians

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Thousands of women running small beauty parlours from their houses in the city are distressed and disappointed by Bhopal Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) crackdown on commercial activities in residential areas.

Some of them are sole breadwinners of their families while others use their earnings to supplement their household income.

They say that a majority of beauty parlours are small enterprises, which are non-polluting and do not cause parking problems. Meena Singh has been running a beauty parlour from her rented home on Airport Road for the past 20 years.

She is separated from her husband and has the responsibility of managing the household and educating her children - a son and a daughter. “I was issued a Gumashta licence in 2012.

I also have the commercial licence from BMC. But now I am told I have to shut down my business. What will I do? How will I survive?” she asks.

Mamata Kadbe’s beauty parlour in Sarvadharma Colony on Kolar Road is 15 years old. “We are running very small businesses. We cannot afford buying or renting space in a commercial complex,” she says, adding, “I have a loan to repay.

I have trained dozens of other women who are also helping their families make ends meet. What is being done is unjust.”

Sudha Bhati has been running beauty parlour from her home in Shahpura since 2000. “My husband is retired and his monthly pension is just around Rs 12,000.

It is with the help of the small income from the parlour that we are able to survive,” she says, adding, “it is convenient for women to run beauty parlours from homes as they can simultaneously manage their household work. “What is being done is cruel. If our business is illegal, why did the authorities issue a licence to us?” she asks.

5,000 women run beauty parlours from homes

“Nearly 5,000 women are running beauty parlours from their homes in the city. They have Gumashta licences, they pay property tax and income tax and they have commercial electricity connections.

Now, they are being asked to shut down their businesses overnight. Why should they pay for the government’s mistake? What will they do? Is this the women empowerment government talks about?”

-Sarita Shrivastava, president, Bhopal Beauty Parlours Association