With markets shut, vendors take to streets

Mysore/Mysuru: With the District Administration ordering a ban on  fairs, shandies, jathras  etc. as a COVID safety and precautionary measure in the wake of surge in COVID-19 cases, the Devaraja Market, V.V. Market, Mandi Market and M.G. Road Vegetable Market have been completely shut for business until further orders. 

However, the vendors are allowed to do business along the streets and on push-carts by maintaining COVID guidelines such as wearing face mask, maintenance of physical distancing and hand sanitisation.

 As a result, busy commercial streets such as D. Devaraj Urs Road, Sayyaji Rao Road and Dhanvantri Road have turned into street markets with fruits, vegetable and flower vendors using footpaths and other vacant spaces along the roads as a make-shift  place for to conduct business.

With the four big fruit and vegetable markets shut all of a sudden, there has been a sudden surge in the demand for push-carts, as the authorities have permitted sales on push-carts from 6 am to 6 pm during COVID Curfew. Many push-cart vendors are seen in good numbers around RMC Circle on New Sayyaji Rao Road, Teresian College Circle, D. Devaraj Urs Road, Agrahara Circle and other prominent roads and junctions in city. 

 However, the wholesale vegetable  market at Dasara Exhibition parking lot, which was set up last year following the outbreak of the deadly pandemic, continues to function as usual. Here, the business is permitted only for a short period of two hours — 6 am to 8 am. The ground is a venue for inter-State trading of fruits and vegetables and as such, farmers and traders are allowed to enter the ground from 8 pm the previous day to get prepared for trading. Once trading ends at 8 am, the farmers are asked by the authorities to leave the ground by covering up any vegetables and other agricultural produce that are left unsold.

Meanwhile, grocery and grain shop owners have welcomed the Government’s decision to extend business hours for essential services by two hours. Now provision stores and other essential commodities shops can open from 6 am to 12 noon. Earlier it was 6 am to 10 am.

 But cops, who were unaware and  confused about the two-hour extension, were seen asking shops in Siddarthanagar and other surrounding areas to shut at 10 am on Sunday, which was the first day of extended period. The action of cops irked the shopkeepers, who were seen entering into a verbal duel with the Police.

Fruit and vegetable traders, who were conducting business on M.G. Road Market, are now conducting business on the road side near Lalitha Mahal. The traders conduct business till 8 am every day.

Flower vendors to meet MCC authorities tomorrow

Flower vendors who were conducting business in the surroundings of J.K. Grounds were stopped by the Police today (May 4) as it began to get crowded and the vendors were reportedly told by the Police not to conduct business from tomorrow.

With the markets shut and the Police restricting their business, the flower vendors have decided to meet the MCC authorities tomorrow and urge the City Corporation Commissioner to provide an alternate place for them to conduct business.