The dream was born in 2016 , with the opening of his business in Piazza Repubblica, in Cagliari. The earnings of his " Fruit Empire " were going well, so much so that the path taken seemed to be the right one. Then the metro construction sites - headed by Arst and not by the Municipality - blocked everything and Stefano Sollai , a 53-year-old entrepreneur from Villacidro but resident in the capital for 10 years, had to lower the shutter of the place forever. In fact, with the stop of the journeys and the works near the station, from one moment to the next, the customers who previously stopped for a quick purchase or for the usual weekly shopping have decreased (almost disappeared).
« At the beginning things were going swimmingly , better and better. So much so that in 2019-2020 the takings were around 150/200 thousand euros per year. With the start of the works everything changed, so much so that the earnings - when things were going well - did not exceed 100 euros a day. It's unsustainable , they really took away our air . And I don't know how to do it," explains Sollai, who lives alone with his 5-year-old daughter and a mortgage to pay . « I have no certainties , for now I'm stuck. With me – continues the entrepreneur – a butcher's shop also closed which remained open for no more than 6 months. I hoped this torment would end sooner, but I was wrong. And in the meantime I don't know what to do."
An attempt to improve the situation – in reality – has been made. But it was of no use, «I'm still waiting for some signal. At the beginning I wrote to the mayor of Cagliari Paolo Truzzu . I didn't know what to do, I sent him a message on social media. The answer? At first he couldn't do anything about it, then he told me to contact social services. And I did this too, last week. But to date there is still no news", confesses Sollai, worried. Then the clarification on any subsidies that «would be an aid. But they certainly wouldn't change the fate of my fruit and vegetables. I'm returning the keys, that's the end of it."
PD representative Camilla Soru is dealing with the matter and imagines a solution for the entrepreneur that is far from bankruptcy: «given that the works are carried out by Arst, in this period the many construction sites that have arisen in the city have created problems for all traders, which are recording a significant decline in turnover. An example could be what is happening in Viale Trieste, where shopkeepers have also recently expressed their discontent . And in Piazza Repubblica the situation is certainly no better."
«If you plan such long construction sites – continues the city councilor – you also have to think about the fact that you are blocking those who have been in that place for years. These are people with lives, with families. For Stefano Sollai, a possible solution would be to open an alternative place, a removable shop , to be placed in a square, so as to allow him to remain in that area and not lose his loyal customers. I will propose a document to the Municipality to request an extraordinary authorization for the use of public land . And with my colleagues we will continue to work to establish a fund to support the damaged operators."
