Arrival of vegetables has been poor at the wholesale shandy at Vaiyampatti, one of the major horticultural centres in the district, in the wake of the failure of monsoon.
Vaiyampatti accounts for a large number of wholesale dealers in vegetables and they get tomato, brinjal, lady’s finger, ridge gourd (pirkankai), beans from a cluster of villages in the periphery. An estimated 500 acres are brought under these vegetables in Kumaravadi, Aanangarayanpatti, Koambapatti, Pillaiyarnatham, Thulakkampatti, Nadupatti, Kallupatti, Karungulam and Edayapatti.
The arrival of a few vegetables has virtually stopped for the past three months, indicating the nil yield in the fields, says K. Guna, one of the wholesale dealers of Vaiyampatti. Among them, brinjal, ridgegourd and beans are some of the vegetables which have not come to the wholesale mandy for the past few months. All these crops require periodical but intensive irrigation facility.
Since the ground water table had gone down far below 100 feet, not many farmers have come forward to burn their finger by raising the crop.
He said that farmers have skipped the vegetable crops for the past two ‘pattams’ (‘Thai pattam’ and ‘Vaikasi pattam’).
Another wholesale dealer, A. Anbu says he has been complacent with the arrival of mangoes.
“Never in the past two decades my mandi has witnessed such a deserted situation,” he says.
A cluster of wholesale markets are located near the bus stand in Vaiyampatti and brisk activity was seen in the past from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. daily at these wholesale markets, with farmers bringing the produce and the merchants or their agents from Tiruchi, Dindigul and Ottanchathiram loading the vegetables immediately. But, on Monday, the vegetable markets wore a dull look.
The poor arrival of vegetables at the wholesale market has, in turn, affected the mini-van operators who used to transport the produce from Vaiyampatti to different places within the district and also to Dindigul and Madurai districts.
Malayan, one of the operators, said that a large number of vans and taxis can be seen parked at the vehicle stand opposite the bus stand.
The economy of the village largely depended on the wholesale markets.
He said that most of the van operators were idling at the stand.
