You are here: Home > Mumbai > 70% loss for small businesses near Gateway

Cabbies, photographers, ferry owners blame losses on decreased visitor traffic

scarce:Tourists have disappeared from the popular shopping spots around Colaba Causeway after the terror attacks. PICS/NIMESH DAVE

Cabbies, photographers, ferry owners and other self-employed individuals who cater to visitors to Gateway of India and the Elephanta caves have lost considerable business since the terror attacks.
  
Vithal Kamble (38), who offers his six binoculars on rent for Rs 5 each, says the crowds have shrunk. "Before the attack, I would rarely have a binocular free. Now, I have no option but to wait for customers. I have lost around 75 per cent of my business," said Kamble.

The thinning crowd has also impacted the business of ferries that ply from the Gateway to Elephanta caves.

"Business has shrunk by 80 per cent. Earlier, all our seats would be taken within 30 minutes of our arrival at the Gateway. Now we have to wait for two hours.

This is despite the fact that my boss is resting seven of his 10 ferries," explained a man who is employed on one of the ferries. A traffic inspector with the Coast Guard said the number of tourists visiting Uran, Rivas and Mora beaches had fallen so drastically that the traffic had declined by over 50 per cent.

Colaba Causeway, which is an extremely popular shopping spot for tourists, too wears a deserted look.
"We stock merchandise for foreigners. After the Mumbai Terror attacks most have left and our sales have plummeted by 70 per cent," said Mohinuddin, who owns an antique shop on the Causeway.