T’puram: When the city corporation’s drive against unauthorised roadside eateries forced 37-year-old Rumu Khati to move her momo stall from Paruthippara to Ulloor-Akkulam Road, she feared losing the customer base she had built over nearly six years. Her customers, however, were unwilling to let their favourite evening snack disappear.Rumu and her husband, Uddab Sunar, now operate the small roadside eatery from around 6.30pm to 11pm. Several regular customers called to check whether the stall had shut down and later followed the family to its new location.For the couple, the business is more than a food stall. It became their livelihood after the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted their earlier jobs. The couple, who have lived in Kerala for nearly 18 years, had worked at beauty parlours before the pandemic. After 2020, they turned to selling homemade momos to support their family.Rumu prepares different varieties of momos at home, with the family taking care to serve them fresh and without preservatives. Their food, coupled with the couple’s friendly approach to customers, helped the modest venture develop a loyal following.“We started this business because we needed a livelihood after Covid. We have worked hard for the past several years, and our customers have supported us. This is how our family survives,” Rumu said. The couple has a three-year-old daughter, Ayra Sunar.Rumu is not alone. Vasantha, who ran a small thattukada near Cotton Hill, also lost her roadside livelihood during the corporation’s enforcement drive. Her outlet too came under the action against eateries operating without required permissions.A corporation official said the drive was not intended to deprive genuine livelihood operators of their income, but to regulate roadside eateries and remove establishments functioning without valid licences. The corporation has particularly focused on commercial outlets operating as extensions of larger hotels and catering businesses.The civic body is also planning to launch a food street, where small-scale roadside vendors will reportedly be given priority.For vendors like Rumu, however, the issue is one of survival. At Ulloor-Akkulam Road, she now begins another evening with trays of freshly prepared momos. The location has changed, but her customers have followed.
