Permit us to open shop with safety measures, say hairdressers

Hairdressers here have urged the State Government to permit them to operate with safety measures, in the midst of the current Covid lockdown restrictions, considering their financial distress

While, hairdressers in urban areas have been financially affected since last month, due to the additional regulations that took effect on May 6 those in rural pockets have also fallen into a precarious situation, M. Rajeshkumar, Thanjavur unit president of the Tamilnadu Barber Workers Association, said

“Local officials and elected representatives in rural pockets did not allow hairdressers to operate citing the new regulations. Also, hairdressers engaged in tonsuring of devotees in temples or attending to surgery patients at private hospitals have been blocked, ” he pointed out.

Welcoming the one-time financial assistance of ₹4,000 to be extended through the public distribution system outlets in two instalments, he said that it would not be sufficient for them to make ends meet. “Most of whatever we had earned during the last few months owing to easing of restrictions had to be utilised for clearing our debts. We could only repay a part of the loans we had sourced from various quarters to run our families during the initial stage of the first wave of novel coronavirus pandemic, when there was a total lockdown,” Mr. Rajeshkumar said.

Mr. Rajeshkumar pleaded that hairdressers must either be allowed to operate their salons, with safety measures in place, or a sum of ₹10,000 per month be granted to families of hairdressers registered with the welfare board run by the government.

“Allowing us to operate from 6 a.m. to noon like other shops/business establishments with necessary standard operating procedures in place will help us to tide over the crisis to some extent”, he added.

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