Days later, traders at APMC breathe a sigh of relief

After mismanagement led to crowds, market opened in a systematic manner on Monday

Maintaining distance: Customers line up at APMC market to buy essentials on Monday.

After days of crowding and mismanagement, the APMC vegetable market started functioning in a systematic manner, maintaining social distancing with the help of police bandobast and bamboo barricades, on Monday.

A team headed by an Assistant Commissioner of Police, including around 100 Home Guards along with 150 personnel of the Navi Mumbai Police, 18 assistant and sub-inspectors and one police inspector, enforced the bandobast at the vegetable market.

“We made sure that social distancing was maintained and people stood on the marked area only. No vehicles that did not have permission were allowed inside the market. Only a limited number of people were being allowed inside the market, depending upon the number of people exiting,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone I) Pankaj Dahane said.

On Friday and Saturday, the unmanageable crowds at the market had scared the traders and they did not want to work at the market. With changes in the working pattern and strict restriction on the number of vehicles (not more than 300), the vegetable market had more breathing space, traders said. Of the 1,200 vehicles that brought the stock on Saturday, most were remaining, hence, the process began on Monday.

“The vegetables from Saturday are still pending and there were quite a few trucks that came in on Monday due to which the rates also went down,” Ramdas Pavle, a vegetable seller, from APMC market said. Meanwhile, the APMC board has started making a temporary arrangement at a ground in Sector 35, Kharghar, near Central Park. “The arrangement will be used only if necessary. There no plans to shift completely, if ever the need arises and if we feel that the crowd can’t be managed, we will shift a few traders there. As of now we are not letting retailers who buy small quantities in the market to avoid crowding,” Anil Chavan, secretary, APMC board, said.

On Monday, only one truck and 52 tempos had arrived with the stock in the vegetable market. Meanwhile, at the onion-potato market, 133 trucks and 81 tempos had arrived. The fruit market received four trucks and 153 tempos, and 10 trucks and three tempos came to the grain market. A total of 433 vehicle arrived in APMC