CHENNAI: It’s a Wednesday afternoon. Clouds hover above and it is forever a hanging threat to the people on T Nagar’s streets. You wouldn’t expect the place to be too crowded around noon, but then again, the definition of ‘not too crowded’ on Ranganathan Street would mean not rubbing shoulders when you walk. “Do you see anybody stopping at the shops?” asks Rahim, a clothes merchant, and continues, “All these people you see walking are just passing from the station to the main road. The shopping crowd is very low now.” It’s a given that with the CMDA and Corporation’s forbidding tape strung across almost 110 shops in the vicinity, it isn’t the best of times.While there are a whole bag of problems that vendors and retailers attribute this low shoppers’ turnout to, the most striking reason that almost everyone agrees on is this: “Almost all the shoppers are labouring under the misconception that the whole of T Nagar is sealed and shut,” says an exasperated Kannan, who owns a fancy store. “The media has been showing images of shut shops and so people have gotten the wrong idea. Now, until news of shops opening again gets out, we have to suffer,” he adds.Besides among those related to the garment industry, the most affected are the small vendors. Popcorn sellers, samosa and chaat stalls and steamed corn kiosks remain sans patronage. “The regulars never stop to eat, it’s only the shoppers,” shrugs off Kishan, who wields a popcorn oven. Most shopkeepers concur that the crowds these past few days are “locals on weekly shopping”, while the “outstation and heavy shoppers have kept away.”However, not everyone is entirely upset at the closure of the big shops. Some like Manik, who used to sell garments off a single stool outside Saravana Stores’ kitchen utensils showroom, have used the ‘red tape’ to their advantage. He has roped in his two cousins who worked along the street and now all three have set up a shop on a unified long table. Three’s better than one, he reasons and went on to say that it has helped sales.
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