Social distancing not being followed strictly, says Delhi's Azadpur market vegetable vendor
Some even suggested that wholesale mandis should be closed for at least a week.
Published: 03rd April 2020 08:55 AM | Last Updated: 03rd April 2020 08:55 AM | A+A A-
Vegetable vendors wait for customers at a market in Delhi on Thursday during the ongoing lockdown. (Photo | Shekhar Yadav, EPS)
NEW DELHI: At a time when people are considering social distancing as an effective measure to check the spread of coronavirus, crowding at places like fruit and vegetable wholesale markets of Delhi continue. Many traders, in this regard, at these wholesale markets, have raised this concern with the Delhi governments.
“Daily scores of retail vegetable and fruit vendors arrive at these markets to get stock and then to get disbursed in different parts of the city. In such condition, if even one person has coronavirus, then he could put many in danger,” said Arvind, a vegetable seller from Delhi.
Some even suggested that wholesale mandis should be closed for at least a week. However, Chairman of the Azadpur Mandi Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC), Adil Ahmed Khan, said, that direction will be issued soon by the concerned department to traders and commission agents in these markets to do the social distancing markings. Images from many parts of the country have surfaced where social distancing measures are in place at places like mandis.
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“We held a meeting with few traders and officials regarding the social distancing norms not being followed, notice will be issued to the traders of all the mandis to make arrangements soon,” informed Khan. According to the government, the shop owners will have to put to use their manpower and make the markings for retail vendors to come and collect daily supplies. Commission agents who are present in these markets will also be given the task to do the markings.
Khan informed that demand has come down a bit since the initial few days when people were panic buying materials.“The demand has come down due to which the prices have fallen. During the time when people were stocking due to panic buying, the prices shot up. Otherwise, the transportation of material is running smoothly,” added Khan. There is a total of seven mandis in Delhi, two are for grains, one for fish and poultry and the remaining are for fruits and vegetables.
APMC had assured safety
Officials in Azadpur Mandi Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) had earlier assured the people that all precautionary measures were initiated to allay the fear of the people regarding virus spread
