Kesinga: Like many others, the tent house owners here in Kalahandi district are also in severe financial crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Even though lockdown restrictions have eased June onwards, it has not been beneficial for the tent house owners. This is because of the restrictions on gatherings and conducting social events. Hence the income of these tent house owners has not increased.
The mainstay of the tent owners’ is social functions. “Though the small, medium and big businessmen are presently doing business, we are still sitting idle,” alleged Kalahandi District Tent Owners’ Association Advisor, Sushant Mohapatra.
“If the government programmes are being allowed with public address system, why not the social programmes?” the dejected tent owners asked.
They alleged many tent owners have taken loans from banks and now they are having problems to deposit their EMIs.
The tent owners under the leadership of association president Rabi Narayan Mishra convened a meeting at Kesinga RMC Thursday afternoon after handing over a memorandum to block development officer Prafulla Kumar Odu.
The memorandum was addressed to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. In the memorandum they have requested the CM to allow social programmes with a gathering of 500 people and to give a compensation of Rs 50,000 to each of the severely-affected tent owners.
PNN
