CHENNAI: The next time you visit Ranganathan Street, don’t be surprised if you see more men assisting you in buying vessels and clothes. Considered largely the domain of salesgirls, more men are now finding employment here, while salesgirls who worked in shops that have been issued lock and seal orders, have been shown the door.Following the sealing of more than 25 buildings in T Nagar by the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority and the Corporation on October 31, the fate of nearly 20,000 employees who worked in the 100-plus shops of the sealed buildings remain unknown. With the next hearing on the issue slated for November 30, the employees have one entire month to fend for themselves.Salespersons, in shops that own multiple units in the area such as Saravana Stores, Rathna Stores and Jayachandran Textiles, have mostly been deployed in other units of the enterprises, situated in the same locality. It is here that the salesmen have seen an unfair advantage over the salesgirls, with the latter being sent back to their villages.“On October 31, when the lock-and-seal orders were issued, we could not comprehend exactly what was to happen next. But luckily, as it happened during the end of the month, our bosses settled our dues the next day itself. Some men were asked to move out to another Rathna Stores where we now stock our vessels, but we (salesgirls) were asked to go back home,” says Lakshmi (name changed), an employee at the utensils store. Lakshmi then headed for her village in Villupuram, and is currently staying with her parents. She is not looking for a job and will wait until the next court order on the issue. “The pay in shops here, compared to Chennai, is also very less. So, my parents asked me to stay at home with them this month,” she says.“Invariably, the girls who come here are school drop-outs. Hailing from villages in Villupuram, Tindivanam, Chidambaram, Tuticorin and Tirunelveli districts, they are lured here by the pay package of `3,000 at least, apart from the food and accommodation. But now, with the shops shut down, our accommodation had become a big question. Though we could still use our hostels, what would the girls have done through the day? Men can go out and seek a living, but with women, safety is a big concern. And as they are also not well-oriented with the city, they are not confident as to what they can do here. The women were relying completely on the company, becoming a liability on the companies. So, many have been sent back, with an assurance that they will be called back if the shops re-open,” says Raja, one of the employees retained by a popular store, speaking for his colleagues. “Some consideration has been shown towards women coming from far-off places like Tutucorin and Tirunelveli, while ones close by, from Villupuram or Chidambaram have been sent back,” he adds.Many of these girls who have been sent back remain untraceable. “Cellphones are not allowed in most of the shops here. So, we do not have any way of reaching them. After the court order, they will call the store managers. The shop supervisors also have some numbers, to call back some of the efficient employees,” said an employee of a cloth store that was shut down. In jewellery stores, however, where salesgirls are preferred over their male counterparts, the girls have not been sent back and are being deployed in other shops run by the big brands.
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