Bachan Singh Panwar: Reopening a small business
A new shop helped Bachan Singh Panwar store goods and resume sales after the Dharali disaster destroyed his home and the space used for his business.
Life before support
Bachan Singh Panwar supported his family through small-scale trade and seasonal work in Dharali. Selling essential goods and agricultural produce formed part of the household income, alongside occasional labour during the tourist season. Children and older family members depended on these earnings.
The business was modest, and the place where goods were stored was important to keeping it going. Stock needed somewhere secure until it could be sold. Home, storage and work were closely connected parts of the family's everyday life.
The disaster of 5 August 2025 destroyed that arrangement. His house collapsed, and the room used to keep goods for sale was lost with it. Household belongings, materials and business stock were buried or swept away.
Bachan Singh was left facing two urgent problems at once: the loss of a home and the loss of a place to earn. Replacing goods alone would have been difficult to usefully sustain without storage or premises from which to sell them.
The family still had daily needs, but the income that met them had been interrupted. As recovery began, a usable business space became a clear priority. It could help him restart trade and provide a way to support the household while other losses were addressed over time.
How we helped
Through the Dharali rehabilitation project, Dev Bhoomi Samiti worked with support from Donatekart and Lenovo Foundation to construct a new shop for Bachan Singh. The project addressed the need for both a place to work and somewhere to keep goods.
The team reviewed the damage and the circumstances of the household. Land for construction was verified locally, and a suitable area was identified for the new structure. This groundwork helped connect the assistance to a site that Bachan Singh could use.
The tin shop gave him covered premises and storage space. For a trader whose previous room had been destroyed, those features were central to restarting. They restored the physical setting in which supplies could become stock and stock could become sales.
The assistance also drew on the experience he already possessed. Bachan Singh knew the trade in essential goods and local produce. A new shop gave him a place to use that knowledge again after the disaster had taken away his earlier premises.
Our role was to help make this return to work possible through a concrete piece of rehabilitation. The structure was built around an identified livelihood need, with project support and local coordination contributing to its completion.
What changed
Bachan Singh resumed selling essential goods from the new shop. He had somewhere to keep stock and a fixed place to conduct business, allowing daily trading to begin again.
The return of income helped with household expenses and gave the family greater stability. The shop became an important source of livelihood during a period when the loss of their home still had to be faced.
It also gave Bachan Singh confidence to approach recovery gradually. Having work available created a way to meet current needs while thinking about what could be rebuilt next. Progress could begin with the business, even as other parts of life required more time.
His story highlights an easily overlooked part of a small livelihood: the room where goods are kept and the place from which they are sold. Losing that space can stop a business as surely as losing the stock itself. Restoring it gave Bachan Singh a practical way to use his skills and support his family again.
