After four days of the complete lockdown in the city, the Koyambedu wholesale market saw traders from the city’s outskirts and neighbouring districts gather in large numbers from early on Thursday morning, to purchase goods.
Most makeshift markets in the city, including Purasawalkam, Kothwalchavadi and Villivakkam, were crowded too as people thronged to buy essential items during the morning hours.
While entry was restricted for residents, the Koyambedu market saw nearly 30,000-40,000 retail traders from various places, including Ranipet, Arakkonam, Gummidipoondi, Tindivanam and even Nellore, visiting on Thursday to make bulk purchases.
Nearly 450 shops of wholesale vegetables, foodgrains and fruits market were open since 2 a.m. Though police personnel were posted from early morning hours, only 50-60% of the shops followed physical distancing norms.
According to wholesale traders, many people jostled for space to buy onions and potatoes in the market. Only 180 truckloads of vegetables, which is half the usual daily load, arrived at the market, noted merchants.
P. Sukumar, a wholesale trader, said the prices of vegetables escalated by 10-15% due to the mismatch between demand and availability. “We did not receive green peas. Beans, broad beans and carrots were costly. Most of the stocks were sold by 7 a.m.,” he said.
While about 200 vegetable shops were open, fruit merchants sold previous day’s stock as they had decided to halt sales till the end of lockdown period. Though fruits and flowers traders were provided space at Madhavaram , most of them did not shift, according to traders.
M. Thyagarajan, president, Koyambedu Vegetables, Fruits and Flowers Merchants Association, said retail traders must be allowed to sell vegetables in places around the market and instructed to follow physical distancing norms. Moreover, action must be taken if retail trading takes place inside the market.
