Digital Lives
Wasim Sajjad
Peshawar
At his shop in Saddar Bazar, Peshawar, Nabi Jan sells mobile phones. When a lockdown was imposed in the wake of Covid19 pandemic, his shop was also closed like other businesses.
“Initially the schools, colleges, universities and educational institutes were closed at all, but after a month or so they decided to have online classes for which the students were supposed to buy a mobile or a laptop,” he said.
That’s when mobile markets like the Bilour Market in the Saddar Bazar, with tens of closely built mobile phone shops, and the labyrinthine Gul Haji plaza on the University Road with several floors of shops selling computers and accessories, were flooded with people.
“They had too much spare time on their hands,” says Jan. “No physical activities were available and the people were afraid of catching the virus.”
As the coronavirus erupted it quickly spread across the globe. The virus hit Pakistan very badly within a few months. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was the province with one of the highest infection and death rates in the country. As the government imposed a lockdown to halt the spread of the virus, all kinds of business were affected. However, the Information Technology gadgets market of mobile phones and computers received a much-needed fillip when people’s lives turned digitized during the lockdown. Likewise, certain businesses shifted from the physical domain to online. And as a result, people’s reliance on electronic and IT gadgets like mobile or computer increased.
Nabi said that the shop was closed as per the government directives, however, parents and the students used to call them to open shop so they could place orders for smart phones with them. He added that it was difficult for them to open the shop because the police were present everywhere and lockdown violations were punished.
To cope with the situation, he said, he would take the specification and features of the mobile phone a person needed by a call. He would make business transactions on the mobile through WhatsApp or a simple call and then he would go to the shop all alone to provide the ordered phone for the client.
The information technology sector at Khyber Peshawar contributes up to a good extent where thousands of the citizens make wages for their livelihood. According to Khalil Khan, president of the shops association Gul Haji Plaza, there are about 190 shops, including warehouses, where more than 750 people are employed.
Majority of the people working at the stores are daily wagers who earn about 800 to 1000 per day. The monthly income of each shop fluctuates from season to season but normally it ranges from 150000 to 200000 per month.
Likewise, the Balour Plaza plays a vital role in the economy of Peshawar. The spokesperson of mobile market association, Ahmad Nawaz, said the plaza contained about 250 shops and about 2000 workers were engaged in the market.
Mr Nawaz said that the earnings estimate of the shops was not calculated because it changed from time to time and shop to shop. Some people earn more than 0.6 million a month and some just make ends meet, adding that the wagers associated with the shops earn about 30-40 thousand per month.
Nabi Jan had a strange experience after the lockdown.
The market was flooded by students when the online classes were announced, especially the exams but they would buy second hand/used mobiles.
When asked about the reason for people buying the used mobiles, he said, “People were struggling to survive and the new mobile phones were more expensive than the used ones.”
He said that the consumer capacity to buy a mobile ranged from 10 thousands to 30 thousands, whereas a new phone was not possible for them to buy with that much money.
He guessed that the reasons for the boost of used mobile phones could be the joblessness, closure of the business and non-availability of the wages during the lockdown.
On the other hand the people associated with the repairing, buying and selling business of the laptops and computers were depressed due to the lockdown.
Ajmal Khan runs his laptop shop in Gul Haji Plaza, Peshawar. He said that people had no capacity to buy laptops after the lockdown was left, adding that the market seemed like a graveyard more than a great computer market of the province.
The computers’ prices were also increased during the lockdown as the imports were closed and it was difficult to keep balance in the supply and demand ratio.
However, the repair market of laptops had gotten a boost.
Mr Ajmal said that when the lockdown was a bit eased people, especially the students would bring their laptops to repair it.
Majority of the laptop would have very minor issues like battery change, hard drive crash issues or keyboard issues. The repairing business got the boost when the major universities announced online exams during the lockdown.
Moreover, it was more difficult for the daily wagers to make ends meet during the lockdown as they were not in a position to earn two times bread for the family. Tayab Ullah Afridi is a taxi driver from Jam area of Peshawar who faced too much difficulty in arranging a mobile phone for his son Jammi Ullah who reads in 11 standards.
Tayab said that he borrowed 12 thousand from a relative to buy a mobile phone for his son so that he could take online classes.
Mr Tayyab said, “When the lockdown ended I sold the mobile phone as I had to take his taxi to a mechanic and now the threat of another lockdown is looming on my head.” Adding that he had borrowed too much in the previous lockdown and it would be impossible for him to manage anything for his son and he would be compelled to banish his son’s education.
Nabi said that the business during the lockdown was not productive, but the customers were important to him as he had to do business after the lockdown too, adding that taking specifications of the mobile through WhatsApp or a call was also difficult for them and many clients later on complaint about the product they bought. “Not only is it necessary to sell a product but it was more important for a business man to satisfy the consumer by providing a good product which was a real challenge at the time of lockdown,” he said.
