Shillong, June 28: If life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Well these folks aren’t exactly making lemonade, but they aren’t sour about the present repair work of the Umiam Bridge, unlike some.
The Umaim Bridge repair is causing an endless wait and sometimes makes the head slowly droop in frustration and when that happens, chances are it will be lifted up by a refreshing call from one Kong Ida, Steven et al.
“Bah! theid soh? (Mr. want to buy fruit) …Theid channa (want to buy channa)” are some of the calls which make one look up at these sympathetic faces.
These are some of the hardy, simple village folks who have tread miles to sell fresh seasonal fruits, lentils mix (chana chur) and even car accessories to the halted traffic near Umiam Bridge.
“I have been selling here for the past few months and this has really helped my family,” Kong Ida from Umroi says with a gleam in her eyes. She sells plums, slices of coconut, pineapple and papaya in a bamboo basket.
Some of these hawkers have now been coming from faraway places like Smit, Mawphlang, Umroi, Nongpoh and other places. “I come here at about 8 am and leave for home at 8 pm,” Kong Ida said.
That’s a 12-hour office shift, with a hurried lunch and some snack breaks thrown in between. The woman hawker said she manages to earn about Rs. 500-600 daily.
Similarly, Steven who has been selling channa said: “The number of hawkers has increased over time near the bridge. Now there are more than 50 hawkers here and they have been coming from everywhere.”
Chandan sells car accessories like floor mat, brush etc. “I have rented a room at Nongpoh and now come here to sell every day. Earlier I was selling in Guwahati,” the young hawker said.
Asked what will happen when the repair of the bridge is complete and the traffic would move smoothly without the halt most of the hawkers looked away. They were probably saying: “we will cross the bridge when it comes.”
