PESHAWAR: The coronavirus pandemic, constant lockdowns and strict policies of the government have badly affected the business of traders taking the daily use items to the far-flung areas in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The traders taking flour, ghee, sugar, gurr to Upper Dir, Chitral, Swat, Shangla and other inaccessible areas have not stored these items for the second consecutive year due to coronavirus pandemic, saying it would be difficult for them to pay taxes this year. Complaining against the media for highlighting the problems of consumers only, the representatives of traders said the media did not bother to know about their problems.
According to them, the main traders purchased ghee from Peshawar and Nowshera, flour from Sakha Kot, sugar and gurr from Mardan and stocked these items in various sites in Swat for onward transportation to Chitral, Upper Dir and Kohistan but this is the second Ramazan they could not do so.
The reasons, they said, was corona, poverty, lack of money, unemployment and lack of job opportunities particularly in rural and hilly areas. “We had to deposit millions every year to purchase ghee, sugar and flour but this is the second Ramazan, we cannot do so," said Mushtaq, a salesman with Swat-based dealer.
He said many daily wagers were removed from job and his boss was now bringing his school-going sons to assist him in his business. Many shopkeepers and dealers have relieved their servants of jobs as there is no business these days.
Referring towards a mega mart, he said the owner of this two-storey building converted it into 10 small shops because they were not earning enough money. The traders were the main sufferers in the coronavirus pandemic and no one can oppose government instructions about safety measures but the authorities should have prepared a comprehensive plan to cope with this situation.
Mushtaq said the government should make alternate arrangements for daily wagers, labourers, unemployed and poor in Ramazan. “Mere closing down business and markets is no solution,” he said adding, “I might also loss job like my colleagues within next few days.”