Bengaluru banana leaf vendors bear brunt of COVID-19 crisis

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], September 22 : With no functions and events taking place due to COVID-19 induced restrictions, banana leaf vendors in Bengaluru are going through tough times making ends meet.
Speaking to ANI, Madhu, a vendor, said, "No functions and events are taking place. We are struggling to survive. We used to sell at least 10,000 banana leaves, now we cannot even sell 1,000."
"Our business is completely dull and we are struggling to survive. We are not in a situation to pay the farmers and our shop rents. We used to sell at least 10,000 banana leaves for an event before the lockdown but it is becoming tough to even sell 1,000 leaves post lockdown," he added.
Another banana leaf vendor, Puttamma stated that in the past 50 years the vendors here have not seen such a crisis.
"I used to earn at least Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000 a day, earlier but now the scenario has completely changed. We are not in a situation where we can take care of our families," Puttamma added.
Banana leaves hold a traditional place in almost every function in Southern India like weddings, birthdays, during the last rites and house warming ceremonies.
However, post lockdown the business of banana leaf vendors has drastically come down. The vendors' community was solely dependent on banana leaf business of survival. They are now forced to shut their shops and are trying to find some other business to earn their livelihood.