The Morning of Zoru Bhathena usually starts with a Cup of tea and reading the newspaper, which was brought to his door. But since then, the Coronavirus is determined also in India, the everyday life, he had to take advantage of this habit goodbye. At the end of March to 1.3 billion Indians were faced with a country-wide Lockdown. Even before the initial restrictions on the 25. March, in force, spread in social networks rumors about Newspapers as a dangerous carrier of the virus, also an alleged Doctor acted with appropriate warnings.

rumors about the "dangerous" Newspapers

The entrepreneur Bhathena believes that this panic one of the Triggers for this was that many of the housing estates is no longer wanted in Mumbai suddenly, the newspaper deliverer to your site. In Bhathenas house that was so. However, he did not want to accept. It took about a month to Bhathena a publisher is found who accepts the delivery itself. He now receives each day for 30 copies of the local newspaper Mid-Day. The 29 other he gives to the neighbors that you want to read. The newspaper messenger may not, however, only up to the gate of the residential area, the setting of the community is.

it is not the 45-Year-old is that he can take his morning reading again. Bhathena interfere with the rumors that create anxiety. "Paper is one of the materials with the lowest risk of infection," says Bhathena, whose company produces medical devices. "If it were really dangerous, we would have died already seem to have all the dirty money that we touch every day. It is sad to see how the 'E-Coronavirus transmits so many false news".

supply chains interrupted

the Indian newspaper publishers have responded to the end of March with a clarification that Newspapers are herd with no infection. Production and distribution of press products, were exempted from the restrictions of the lock downs are expressly declared to be indispensable areas of public life. Nevertheless, the Situation developed in Mumbai dramatically. First, the concern for Contracting the disease had led to a Boycott of the newspaper deliverer. Most of the press houses in Mumbai stopped the printing presses.

the dealer Yadav got to feel in his Kiosk. He has on his order form around 90 titles of Newspapers and magazines, which he sold in the morning at his booth, after he has already played in the Early Newspapers. Normally. Two to three million copies are sold in Mumbai every day, at least until the Corona pandemic, the metropolis on the West coast of India reached. Mr Yadav has built up in the newspaper business difficult. He sends money every month home to his family in North India, he has long since not seen. While his business was broke, wanted to go home, but all the transport connections were interrupted.

struggle for Survival

Since the beginning of April, Yadav has opened his road again. Some titles appear, in the meantime, after the carriers have resumed their work and would like to capture. In many Parts of India since the end of March in force Lockdown was extended for the third Time, currently until the end of may. The longer it lasts, the harder it is for the distributor to come over the rounds.

A newspaper seller from the centre of Mumbai, the DW says that his business lock after the first one-day output of the 22. March has collapsed. Only in the second week of April, he had received back the goods. Slowly, his old customers are coming back and some new, which he supplied with large deliveries. Then the next blow came: The delivery of Newspapers to door-to-door in 20. April by the government of Maharashtra prohibited.

"If supply is allowed to deliver services for food or soap, then why not Newspapers may be delivered?", the forty-something, who has experienced in his over 20 years in the newspaper business, never before has a such an exceptional situation asks for it. Normally, 5,000 households are on its list, now there are ten per cent, which means a massive loss of income.

recovery is

don't take that The sale is stand on a street is very profitable, because you never know how much you sell. The business made the dealer with delivery to home, there was a fixed monthly income for you, says Sanjay Chaukekar, President of the newspaper deliverers ' Union, bvvs medarbejderselskab. The direct delivery by publishers, as in the case of Mid-Day, holds Chaukekar for not a permanent solution. "At the latest when Mumbai comes to life, you need us because, as you should make it in Mumbai's traffic jams, to 7: 30 PM all deliver Newspapers?"

This work is the 5000 newspaper sellers take an average of seven to eight part-time employees. Many of the young men who work as a distributor, you live in their Delivery area or in the vicinity, and to go after the work is done as an additional Job. Also Chaukekar want to put up on the door, if the policy gives the green light. Recently, he again delivers a majority of its customers. Pick up these must your newspaper however, in the hallway or with the doorman. However, until the distribution of the Newspapers reached the same level as before the crisis, estimates Chaukekar, it could take a year.

existential crisis for small Newspapers

The difficult market situation also affects the advertising revenue. "Many journalists have lost in the last two months of their work," said Lata Mishra from Mumbai Press Club, which observed the Situation with concern. "The worst Newspapers are affected in local languages. Smaller as the Hindi-language 'Hamara Mahanagar' was closed. You can't survive without advertising revenue," says Mishra.

The press club criticized the decision of the government of Maharashtra, the house-to ban home-delivery of Newspapers. Thus, the readers will instilled fear. The economic difficulties for Newspapers in Corona-crisis would be exacerbated by additional.

slump in advertising revenue

According to the industry Association of the Indian Newspaper Society (INS) are recorded in the Newspapers, a decline in the View of the government and the authorities around 80 to 85 per cent and at the private View by 90 percent. This corresponds to lack of revenue in March and April in the amount of 500 million euros (4,000 to 4,500 RS Crore). According TO the 900,000 and one Million people are employed directly in the Newspapers, and a further nearly two million, indirectly.

The advertising revenue for the Indian Newspapers is extremely important, because the physical production costs are much higher than the sale. So the "Times of India" five rupees (6 Euro cents) costs, production cost of 20 to 25 rupees (25 to 30 cents). It has built in front of their E-Paper edition is now a Paywall. For Bhathena, that would be no Problem, but he buys them at a Kiosk in his neighborhood, has re-opened. Good for him, and the kiosk operators, but for the print company less than a drop on the hot stone.

author: Natalie Mayroth

*The contribution of "hard times for Indian Newspapers" published by Deutsche Welle. Contact with the executives here.

Deutsche Welle

Date Of Update: 25 May 2020, 10:27