Still recovering from shock, merchants in Aluva have floated a Karunya Nidhi (charity fund) to support one another, especially small traders who have seen their businesses virtually getting washed away in the massive flooding in Aluva and surrounding areas.
Nazeer Babu, president of Aluva Merchants’ Association, said that small merchants were the hardest hit. There is a need to support them at this moment of crisis. Hence the Karunya Nidhi has been floated, soliciting help from generous people. At the same time, a petition has been sent to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, seeking government support for the merchant community who have been seriously hit by flooding.
There are around 2,000 merchants and small-time traders in and around Aluva, and more than 75% of them have been seriously affected. Nearly 25% of Aluva and surrounding areas had gone under water during the floods, Mr. Babu said.
Nissar of Cochin Fruits said that fruit sellers had sustained serious losses due to flooding. Besides the loss of stocks, market as such has been affected because supplies are just getting normal after almost a fortnight of rain and floods.
A spokesman for the Kerala Vyapari Vyavasayi Samiti said an assessment of the damage sustained by merchants was under way now. Most small-time merchants are in big trouble, as they have no insurance protection, he added.
Petroleum trade
Meanwhile, petroleum traders are faced with shortage of drivers and crew to transport fuel. R. Sabarinath of the All India Federation of Petroleum Traders’ Associations, said that the crew mostly hailed from Aluva and Chalakudy, which were the worst hit by floods. These workers are now engaged in cleaning up their houses and have not been available for transport operations. More than a hundred petroleum outlets were affected by floods. Forty of them had gone under water. Around 80% of the storage facilities are not waterproof, he added. Around 200 petrol pumps would have gone under water in the State, while 1,200 were affected, he said.