TIRUNELVELI
The eleventh hour ‘Pongal’ shopping in Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi districts gave the much-needed fillip to the traders as the sale of fruits, vegetables and other products was so brisk even as the shoppers chose to ignore the COVID-19 norms.
All markets and the surroundings in Tirunelveli and Palayamkottai were heavily crowded on Thursday as the shoppers thronged these places to complete their ‘Pongal’ shopping. Only about 30% of the people were seen wearing the masks while physical distancing norm was not followed anywhere.
Vehicular traffic around the Kamarajar Vegetable Market was thrown out of gear on Thursday as the sale of vegetables moved to top gear. A bundle of 10 sugarcanes was sold at Rs. 450 and the buyers had to shell out anywhere between Rs. 100 to Rs. 150 for a bundle of 25 palmyra tubers, another inseparable farm produce of ‘Pongal’ celebration.
Since the arrival of banana was less this year due to the heavy downpour in November last but the demand was quite high, the price was unprecedented in the vegetable market.
“While the demand for banana for ‘Pongal’ is around 400 tonnes, the arrival from the farms around Thoothukudi was only 100 tonnes. Hence, we had to buy it from Sathyamangalam, Theni, Chinnamanur and even from Andhra Pradesh,” said a banana traders.
Consequently, ‘Sevvaazhai’ was sold for Rs. 900 and ‘Kozhicode’ at Rs. 600. The plantain leaf price also shot up to Rs. 1,100 per bundle. The vegetable price in the markets dipped a bit on Thursday following increased arrival. The price will come down further on Saturday, the traders said.
Over 3,000 policemen will be deployed in Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi and Tenkasi districts as part of the security arrangements besides deployment of special teams to conduct vehicle check in the night. Check-posts have been set up in all the important roads including Ambasmudram Road, Tenkasi Road, Sankarankovil Road and at KTC Nagar, Tuckerammalpuram, Subburaj Mills near Sankar Nagar, V.M. Chathram.
Bathing has been banned in all the waterfalls including Agasthiyar Falls in Papanasam, Manimuthar Falls, Main Falls, Five Falls and Old Courtallam Falls on Friday and Saturday. Police announced that those who drive vehicles under the influence of alcohol would be booked and vehicles seized.
