inder would work at an electronic appliance shop in sadar but has been out of job for more than three weeks now almost half his savings exhausted he is now forced to work as a delivery executiveakhil who is used to seeing a queue of at least 10 people outside his biryani outlet in ardee city any time in the day is now selling vegetables outside his housechote lals tea stall at vyapar kendra has been shut for weeks now one third of his monthly income of rs 7000 goes in paying the house rent he hasnt been able to pay the rent for april yet and prays to god his landlord doesnt turn up at the door anytime soon gurugram thousands of small businessmen who are not associated with the sale of essential goods are staring at a difficult path ahead as earnings have been virtually nil during the lockdown and savings fast drying upand with the lockdown extended till may 3 their struggle seems far from over in such a situation many of them have switched jobs to augment their income some are working as delivery executives while others have found work in grocery stores or are selling vegetablesthese are indeed tough times for us i am working as a delivery executive as i need money urgently said 43yearold inder who worked at an electronic appliance shop but he supports the lockdown it is the only way this virus can be controlled if we live we can earn and even make up for our losses he addeddinesh kumar whose ironing vend in kanhai village has been shut since march 22 needs around rs 200250 daily to feed his family of four in three weeks i have already spent rs 4000 from whatever little savings i had if the government doesnt step in to look into our problems we have to brace for hard times kumar saideven in these tough times both inder and kumar have been supporting the lockdown not just them many others in the city said though their businesses were on the decline they would become resilient over timeakhil for instance plans to sell vegetables for the time being there was a time my biryani shop would remain crowded all day i have no option but to keep it shut for the time being but this too shall pass i am selling vegetables to feed my family i cant compromise with their health he saidfor small traders like akhil money needs to flow into their hands constantly so that they can keep their businesses running ever since covid19 raised its head in the country businesses have taken a hit as payments got delayed these traders spent a portion of their savings to keep businesses alive after the lockdown was enforced their earnings became nil i know it will take some time for things to become normal even if the lockdown is lifted money wont flow into our hands instantly akhil saidfor someone like deepak kalra