Assam: Margherita’s sole vermicelli trader suffers heavy economic loss, blames covid pandemic

Margherita’s sole vermicelli seller, Mohammed Mujammil Khan, has suffered significant financial losses due to a decline in customer numbers. Khan, a long-time resident of Margherita Bazaar, has been selling colorful vermicelli during Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Adha for over 40 years. However, recent years have seen a sharp decline in sales.

Khan attributes his business’s decline to a number of factors, including demonetisation, the introduction of GST, the COVID-19 pandemic and the rapid growth of e-commerce. These economic changes caused many local traders and businessmen in Margherita Constituency 83 to cease operations and move to other states for better living conditions.

“Every year I invest over Rs 2 lakh in different types of colorful vermicelli for Eid celebrations, but I suffer heavy losses. Despite these setbacks, I hope that happier days will return,” Khan said.

The economic downturn in Margherita is not limited to Khan’s activities. The once thriving Margherita bazaar, where more than 1,000 shopkeepers, traders and small shopkeepers work, has seen a dramatic decline in income. Many shopkeepers are struggling to sell goods worth even Rs 100 a day. The collapse of major industries such as Coal India Ltd NEC Margherita, the plywood industry and the tea industry has severely impacted the local economy, reducing consumer purchasing power.
These industries once played a key role in supporting Margherita’s economy. However, the combined impact of demonetisation, GST and the rise of e-commerce has devastated the business sector. As a result, many educated, unemployed youths from Ward 83 Margherita in Tinsukia District migrated to other parts of the country in search of work.