KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 30 — Traders have lost about 50 to 70 per cent of their sales following the sinkhole incident along Jalan Masjid India last Friday, with some willing to stop operations temporarily to avoid bigger losses.
Last Friday, an Indian woman known as Vijayaletchumy, 48, fell into an eight-metre deep hole on Jalan Masjid India. She has yet to be found.
A foodstall owner, Md Daud Mohd Jonid, 61, told Bernama that his business has deteriorated with sales falling by up to 50 per cent.
He said there was a water cut in the area from last Saturday, which caused him to close his stall. The situation worsened after it was reported that there was another sinkhole near the area, he said.
“Yesterday (August 28), my sales fell by almost half, today (August 29) it’s even worse. On normal days I can make over RM3,000 a day.
“This incident was not planned. Earlier, I had a discussion with my workers about closing the shop temporarily. If the workers are given leave and are not paid, they will not be able to stand for long and will look for other work to survive,” he said.
Md Daud has been doing business in the area for almost 28 years.
“So far, I have only done business near here and have no plans to look for other areas.
“I hope that the government can help traders like us to recover, I believe this problem may not last long. If it can be resolved as soon as possible, I hope everything will be okay,” he said.
Meanwhile, a small trader who sells jerseys, Nadiah Galib, said that in the past, her sales can reach RM200 per day, but now she only makes RM20 per day.
“If the number of visitors continues to drop, I may switch to doing business online like Shopee and Lazada.
“We are saddened by the incident that happened to the woman and we hope the government continues to find her,” she said.
In a similar predicament, Nurul Tasnim, a perfume dealer, said that sales have declined by almost 60 to 70 per cent and that she will switch to online business if desperate.
“So far, I am still continuing business as usual and if the situation worsens, I am thinking of doing business online,” she said.
The area around Jalan Masjid India looked gloomy with very low flow of visitors as strict movement control by the authorities is in place.
According to Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain, there is no need to declare Jalan Masjid India area where the sinkhole incident occurred as an unsafe and disaster zone.
— Bernama
