Govt should have thought about us: traders

Traders at Azadpur Mandi are among the worst-affected by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s demonetisation announcement. Such is the situation that they are contemplating closing the market.

While vegetables and fruits are well-stocked, the buyers are conspicuous by their absence. “Since there is no cash flow, vendors aren’t buying the stock,” said Raj Kumar Bhatia, general secretary of the Chamber of the Azadpur Fruit and Vegetable Traders Association. He explained that even farmers were delaying payments to labourers who cut the produce, gunny bag sellers, transporters and mandi workers due to lack of cash. Also, farmers in neighbouring States aren’t selling their produce to traders in Azadpur Mandi.

Seeking exemption

“The market runs mostly on cash. The government should have thought about us before taking such a big step,” said Mr Bhatia. He argued that while the government keeps looking to the West for cashless policies, vegetable and fruits markets work the same way around the world. “They should exempt us,” Mr. Bhatia demanded.

Entrepreneur Mohit Satyanand took to Twitter to describe the scene at the mandi and said that some traders were finding it tough to even feed their families. “My survey of Delhi Azadpur Mandi suggests volumes down by 50 to 75%, depending on category. If money not restocked fast, could drop further [sic]” he tweeted.

Another trader, Mohammed Iqbal, who deals in apples, said that this year had been ‘disastrous’. “First, the supplies were hit after the tension in Kashmir. Then the prices of Himachali apples went up. And when business finally started picking up, the Prime Minister announced the demonetisation,” he said.

‘Personal reasons’

When asked about Mr. Arvind Kejriwal’s speech at the mandi on Thursday, Mr. Iqbal said that “everyone (referring to Mamata Banerjee and Arvind Kejriwal) is here for a ‘personal’ reason.”

The market, meanwhile, looks desolate. The traders told The Hindu that the trucks have also stopped coming as they aren’t paid. “The situation is going to get worse. With no liquidity, how can those involved in the trade be paid?” said Anil Kumar, a vegetable dealer.

A few traders selling green, leafy vegetables have, however, started accepting the old currency notes. One such trader, who refused to be named, said that his stock of celery and basil leaves would rot if it wasn’t sold. “My priority is to clear this stock. I will exchange the currency notes later,” he said.

Removing old notesfrom circulation will do NOTHING to stem corruption. Don't mistake the symptom with the cause.

- @mohitsatyanand

"Never seen so much cash", the petrol pump attendant tells me, as they are the only cash game in town.

- @mohitsatyanand