Struggling Naga Entrepreneurs Pin Hope On Landlords’ Kindness - Eastern Mirror
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Dimapur

Struggling Naga entrepreneurs pin hope on landlords’ kindness

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By Our Reporter Updated: May 07, 2020 12:58 am

Our Reporter
Dimapur, May 6 (EMN):
Businesses in Nagaland continue to struggle as economic activities have come to a standstill amid the nationwide lockdown.

As business transactions have come to a standstill for most Naga entrepreneurs, they are left with the burden of rent and payment of salaries to their employees, among other problems.

However, some Naga entrepreneurs have been fortunate to have the support of their landlords in their struggle to cope with the extended lockdown and one of them reached out to Eastern Mirror to express gratitude for the acts of kindness.

Founder of Runway Nagaland, Nengneithem Hengna said that “amidst the Covid-19 chaos and poor governance of Nagaland”, she received positive news from her office landlord.

“Our landlord of Rezaki building, Atoho Achumi at Valley View colony in Dimapur has waived off one month rent to support us, the artisans, through this pandemic,” Hengna shared.

“Lockdown was a very challenging phase for us. Ninety percent of our products are sold outside the state and with the lockdown, our operations have been badly affected. At the moment, my priority is how to manage without laying off any employee.

“Also we were hoping if the owner can waive off the rent but we didn’t ask, since this lockdown has affected us all in some ways or the other; and we were all in the same boat,” she said.

Hengna said the owner was ‘thoughtful and kind’ to waive off the rent for a month, which has left her with ‘something useful to do with the rent money’.

“He has always been a great supporter of the works we have been doing for the past four years,” she added.

Founder of Ilandlo, an e-commerce retail outlet, Imtisunep Longchar told this newspaper that there were lots of worries like ‘salary payment, loan payment, also if there is no sale then our company can’t take the load longer.’

“We may have to shut down the business ultimately. We were mostly focused on selling outside of Nagaland, and with the lockdown, we are not shipping any orders. We even faced loses when our parcels got stuck, which we had sent to couriers. They all got stuck when the lockdown started, we have to face all these challenges,” Longchar recounted.

“Mokokchung rent was waived off fortunately but the biggest chunk of payment is in Dimapur and Kohima where rents are higher compared to Mokokchung,” he pointed out.

“Everyone is suffering especially those of non-essential items and many are not able to sell anything the entire month. Some have come up with home deliveries,” Longchar said.

A few of the other entrepreneurs, who wished not to be named, hoped that their work office rent could be waived off for a month or at least given a discount as they have to pay salaries of the employees.

With their businesses running on loss and coming to a complete standstill, they shared that most of their workers depend on the salary to run their families; and as employers, they cannot compromise with the salaries of their employees, in spite of the lockdown.

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By Our Reporter Updated: May 07, 2020 12:58:33 am
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