Pandemic-hit lecturers turn successful hoteliers in Mancherial

Though deprived of jobs, the undeterred Sandeep, Anjaneyulu are an inspiration to many jobless in corona times

Mancherial: They were colleagues working as lecturers at a private degree college with about eight years of experience. But, they lost their jobs to Covid-19 pandemic. However, the optimistic duo were undeterred and displayed an unruffled spirit by venturing into a quite new field – that of food business. And, they succeeded in it with a good footfall as the customers making a beeline to savour the dishes offered at the eatery.

Chidurala Sandeep, a computer science lecturer at a private degree college of this town and his colleague Marka Anjaneyulu, an English language teacher, were comparatively leading a happy life till the March last. They were paid around Rs 18,000 per month. But, they received a jolt when their employer sacked them citing the lockdown triggered by the pandemic in April last.

---

“We were not upset by the loss of our employment. Instead, we explored ways for overcoming the crisis. We initially approached certain eateries seeking their franchises, which involved huge investments in the form of royalty. So, we jointly set up a food joint spending Rs 5 lakh on September 12. The food items are invoking an encouraging response from people,” Sandeep told Telangana Today.

Located near the busiest Laxmi Talkies chowrasta, the eatery titled ‘Dost Adda’, is swarmed by employees of private and public sectors, youngsters and visitors of the town for savouring delicious chicken biryani, noodles, manchuria, fried rice, tea, samosa and various tiffins sold at affordable prices. One of the customers N Tirupathi, an employee of a power plant, remarked that he was impressed with the quality of the food at ‘Dost Adda’.

Sandeep claimed that he was generating sales worth around Rs 10,000 per day. He roped in two chefs from Jharkhand, who were also deprived of jobs by the lockdown. “The chefs, working with a hotel in Warangal, were confined to their houses during the lockdown. I came to know about them through one of my cousins and provided employment and shelter, considering their efficiency and experience,” he explained.

The lecturers informed that they were also delivering the orders at doorstep if the food is ordered on phone. They shared that they were also planning to launch a catering service also. With the food joint becoming a hit, we need to expand the business and increase our customer base. In fact, the lockdown period is ideal for establishing our brand, they reasoned.

While Sandeep, a native of Parkal in Warangal Rural, earned M Tech in Computer Science from a private college in Warangal Rural district, his partner Anjaneyuluy, who hails from nondescript Gurudupet village in Koutala mandal of Kumram Bheem Asifabad district, pursued MA English at Telangana University, Nizamabad district.

---

Now you can get handpicked stories from Telangana Today on Telegram everyday. Click the link to subscribe.

Click to follow Telangana Today Facebook page and Twitter .

---