With the lifeline of Mumbai still not open to everyone, businessmen have been facing problems as they are finding it difficult to cater to their clients.
A Kandivli businessman, Mahendra Vishwakarma, spends anywhere between Rs 1,200 and
Rs 1,600 per day just on travel. He would otherwise spend just Rs 2,500 for a quarterly railway first-class pass.
Vishwakarma not only deals with engineering items, but also exports packaged foods like wafers, chips, and other eatables. However, in order to run his business, he needs to meet up with clients. This has taken a hit as he is unable to travel frequently. This, in turn, has affected his business in the last few months.
“I am unable to travel frequently to my clients who are spread across the city or outside. Earlier, I used to frequently go to APMC market in Navi Mumbai, or meet up with clients in south Mumbai. But now, travelling in crowded BEST buses is a problem. So I end up paying more in aggregator cabs whose fares increase during peak hours,” said Vishwakarma, whose office is in Jogeshwari.
As he had spent over Rs 1,000 per day, he travels just thrice a week.
“The Central government talks about increasing exports, but our state government is doing little about it. I also have an authorised identity card for exports and I have fought with the ticket counter personnel at the station. Yet they don’t issue a ticket.”
“The government should provide tickets to at least those who are fully vaccinated,” he said.
His travel time has also increased by three hours, depending on where he has to go and the traffic.
