The plan to shut the APMC market till March 31 may not be final, with office-bearers of the market, mathadi workers, and vendors forming a committee on Tuesday to take a call on it.
“Shutting down of the market would mean inconvenience to many, hence we had to find a way to come out of this. By Wednesday, in another meeting, we will finalise the plan of action,” said Anil Chavan, secretary of APMC, who will head the committee. Tuesday’s meeting focused on how to control the crowd, security, health, and discipline to be followed in the market. “The market will be closed on Wednesday but will be opened before March 31 after a system is in place,” said Sanjay Pinglay, secretary of APMC vegetable market.
The committee has decided to use sanitisers, masks and take all possible precautions to not let people crowd into the market. In the absence of such a system, 10,000 people will, as usual, crowd the market, he said. “Many people have stocked up vegetables for at least three to four days and before that gets over, the market will open.”
Mathadi workers, who had stopped coming to work, have also been asked to return, even if in smaller numbers.
Meanwhile on Tuesday, prices of vegetables, especially the leafy variety, had soared by nearly 40%. “The trucks coming in from other districts could not reach the market due to the sealing of borders. In the next few days too, the number of trucks could decrease, leading to an increase in rates,” said Ramdas Pavle, a vegetable vendor in the APMC market.
