Traders heaved a sigh of relief with wholesale vegetable shops reopening at Koyambedu on Sunday.
Around 200 shops reopened with a simple ceremony after several months of closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Koyambedu had become a cluster from where the pandemic spread because of crowding and the failure to comply with distancing norms by those at the market and those who shopped there. By mid-May, the count of cases from the cluster was about 3,000.
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From early May, shops were shifted from Koyambedu to a temporary market at Thirumazhisai, about 50 km from the city. The shops in the new location were spread out with designated spaces for off-loading vegetables.
On Sunday, traders who had complained about inadequate facilities at Tirumazhisai were happy because they believed their livelihood was restored at Koyambedu.
D. Rajasekaran, president of the Federation of All Associations of Koyambedu Wholesale Market Committee, said traders should follow the stipulations laid down by the market management committee. They should not unload goods outside their shops or in open spaces in the market.
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A.M. Vikramaraja, president of the Tamil Nadu Vanigar Sangankalin Peramaippu, said the next on the agenda was to reopen the semi-wholesale shops that sold vegetables to small traders. “Moving the vegetable market back to Koyambedu would lead to a reduction in prices, and this would help consumers,” he said.
Traders have also been demanding the reopening of flower and fruit markets in the Koyambedu complex.