As their “token assistance to the needy” during the lockdown over the COVID-19 pandemic, a family owning a market complex at Borigumma in Odisha’s Koraput district has done away with the monthly rent payable for April for all 38 shops in the complex.
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‘Minakshi Complex’, owned by a local joint family, is a major trading hub for the Borigumma panchayat. It houses a wide variety of enterprises, including a cycle repairing unit and eye-catching gift shops. It is owned by a local joint family. All the shops in Minakshi Complex have remained closed for three weeks due to the lockdown.
P. Srinivas Rao, a member of the family owning the complex, said, “As we could feel the plight of the persons who have taken our stalls on rent, our family jointly decided not collect rent from them for the month of April. It’s a small help to ease the financial burden of the shopkeepers.”
This family earns about ₹1 lakh as rent from the complex, with monthly rents per stall ranging from ₹900 to ₹7,000. Owner of the cycle repair shop Ghous Muhammad, vegetable vendor Dilip Das and seller of puja items Bhagaban Padhi are among those who have benefited most.
“Our family was also motivated by the request from the Odisha Chef Minister asking house owners to forego rent from tenants as a humanitarian activity,” said Mr. Rao.
Not only the owners of stalls, the residents of Borigumma have praised the timely assistance from the Rao family.