Of late, people have been thronging uzhavar sandhais for the purchase of vegetables for religious festivals and special occasions.
Pongal, the major harvest festival of South India, is not an exception to this.
The eleven uzhavar sandhais in the district, including four in the city - Suramangalam, Thatagapatti, Ammapettai and Hasthampatti - registered a record vegetable sale turnover of Rs. 64.70 lakh on a single day on Wednesday.
One of the main reasons for the repeated visit of the consumers to the sandhais is the availability of fresh vegetables, reasonable price and the presence of the sandhais in the heart of residential localities.
The price of all vegetables and also sugarcane and turmeric bunches were 10 to 15 per cent less in the uzhavar sandhais compared to the other local markets, said A. Rajkumar, a senior citizen.
A total of 1,256 farmers across the district had put up stalls in the eleven sandhais in the district on Wednesday. About 55,500 people visited the sandhais from before the break of dawn till 11 a.m. and purchased 259 tonnes of vegetables worth Rs. 64.70 lakh, according to Horticulture Department sources.
Apart from the vegetables, sugarcane, turmeric bunches, pachai mochai , avarai , siru kizhangu , sakkaraivalli kizhangu , plantain, plantain leaves, and sakkarai poosani were the most sought after Pongal items.
A pair of good variety sugarcane was sold between Rs. 50 and Rs. 70, while the price of a pair of turmeric bunches was between Rs. 30 and Rs. 40.
As usual, it was Suramangalam uzhavar sandhai which topped the list among the eleven sandhais in sale turnover.
A total of 269 farmers had brought 67 tonnes of vegetables, sugarcane, turmeric bunches among others. About 13,400 men and women thronged the Suramangalam sandhai to procure vegetables worth Rs. 19.84 lakh.
Second in the order is the uzhavar sandhai in the rural town of Attur. A total of 204 farmers brought 57 tonnes of vegetables.
About 11,400 consumers visited the sandhai to procure vegetables worth Rs. 13.08 lakh.
A large number of temporary stalls sprang up in the vicinity of these uzhavar sandhais on Wednesday and they too managed roaring business.
