Distraught investors take stock of losses, pain

Mumbai: These days, Dalal Street abounds with people weighed down by anxiety and disbelief. Narayandas Bajaj (75), a retail trader from south Mumbai, is one of them. Bajaj is on the phone, talking to his family, attempting to gently break the news of his Rs6 lakh loss over the past few days.

He had invested in blue chip stocks such as Hindalco, Cipla and Hindustan Lever. “As a retired person, this market crash has a large impact on my life and family. I can’t believe that I lost so much,” he says. Bajaj hopes the market will bounce back next month.

Down the road, 45-year-old Santhosh Balachandran, who works for a telecom-related business, is scribbling furiously on a paper to gauge his losses. The recent market volatility has shaved Rs70,000 off his Rs5 lakh invested funds.

He plans to stay away from the market for a while “or else it will be suicide”.  He believes that the 120% growth in one year was too high. “The fall was just waiting to happen,” he says woefully.

Entrepreneur Ramesh Mirchandani (40), a Ulhasnagar resident, is another investor grievously hurt in market crash. He lost Rs 80,000 last week, and more than Rs2.5 lakh on Monday.

“My friends are panicking and I don’t know what to do now,” he says. He plans to sell off his holdings if he gets an opportunity.