New Delhi: The heartbreaking story of 80-year old Kanta Prasad and his spouse made hundreds of individuals throng to his Dhaba final yr. The in a single day success of Baba Ka Dhaba additionally gave impetus to a number of such tales into the limelight. However, a yr later, Kanta Prasad and his spouse Badaami Devi’s lives have come to a full circle and they’re now sadly, again to the old Dhaba after their restaurant in south Delhi’s Malviya Nagar wasn’t profitable.
Notably, after his plight went viral, lots of people donated funds to him with which he was ready to open a brand new restaurant in December 2020 and settle all his money owed. On the recommendation of Tushant Adlakha, a social employee, the 80-year-old opened the restaurant at a rented lodging and invested Rs 5 lakh into it. The launch was initially a hit however because the frenzy died down, clients began disappearing slowly and Prasad had to shut it down.
He advised nationwide every day, “The average monthly sales never crossed ₹40,000. I had to bear all the losses. In hindsight, I feel we were wrongly advised to open a new restaurant. Of the total investment of ₹5 lakh, we managed to recover only ₹36,000 from the sale of chairs, utensils, and cooking machines, after the restaurant shut down.”
Blaming Adladka, he added, “Essentially it was he (Adlakha) and his team who managed and supervised everything, including the investment and sales. He said he would make it a success, but he never gave enough time for the restaurant.” However, Adlakha has denied the allegations and blamed Prasad and his two sons for the brand new restaurant’s failure.
The couple has now been compelled to return to their roadside stall and similar to final yr, they’re nonetheless struggling to make ends meet particularly within the wake of the Covid-19 lockdown.
Kanta Prasad advised Hindustan Times, “The daily footfalls at our Dhaba have declined because of the ongoing Covid lockdown, and our daily sales have come down from ₹3,500 before the lockdown to ₹1,000 now. The income is not sufficient for our family of eight.”
Last yr, their story went viral after meals blogger Gaurav Wasan visited Baba Ka Dhaba and posted a clip of it on his Instagram account. In the quick video, Kanta Prasad broke down in tears as he narrated his plight of the difficulties that he confronted whereas working the eatery within the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
