social distancing rules

wholesale markets

Mumbai Agriculture Produce Market Committee

Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation

Vegetable market in Byculla was shut from Thursday (Photo by Deepak Turbhekar)

Chembur street vendors

Nearly 50,000 people visit the five APMC markets every day

Fruit, vegetable, onion and potato markets will remain closed from April 11 until further notice.Concerned about the rising number of Covid-19 cases and people not following, the Maharashtra government on Thursday decided to shut down threein APMC from April 11.Fruit, vegetable, onion and potato markets at(APMC) in Vashi will remain closed until further notice. The decision was taken after a spice trader, who owns a shop in the market, tested positive for coronavirus on Wednesday. Since then, three wholesale market associations have been demanding that the markets be shut down.AK Chavan, secretary of Vashi APMC, said: “We had kept all five wholesale markets open since the lockdown was announced to ensure steady supply of fruits, vegetables, potatoes and onions in the retail markets. Now, we have requested the agents to facilitate the supply of these essential items from farmers to the retail consumers in Mumbai. APMC will support the farm-to-retail chain during this time.”In the last week of March, the APMC had shuttered down but was later forced to resume operations by the government as people were struggling for essentials. Theand the APMC administration, along with the Konkan divisional commissioner, had decided to screen the incoming vehicles, disinfect them and also screen people entering the markets. But beyond the entrance, people didn’t follow social distancing; neither did they use masks and gloves. This had upset traders, workers and their unions because of the high-risk potential.Nearly 50,000 people visit the five APMC markets every day. Narendra Patil, a leader of the Mathadi workers, told Mumbai Mirror, “APMC will decide in the next two days whether to keep markets selling spices, dry fruits, pulses and grains, open.”Market experts are saying that the government should facilitate online sale of fruits, vegetables, potatoes and onions to help both the consumers and the farmers.APMC is the apex body of more than 300 APMCs in the state and around 2,200 big vehicles come to Vashi APMC with agricultural produce from rural Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. It caters to retailers and the hotel industry.In parts of Sion, Matunga, Dadar, Thane andselling greens and vegetable markets are allowed to operate only in the morning. This has left consumers inconvenienced. “If big shops and medical stores can be kept open for a long time, then what’s the problem with keeping small markets open? Since I cannot go to the bigger market on a Chunabhatti ground as it’s a bit far off, I am dependent on the vendors near my home. If they are shutting down APMC markets, how will we get vegetables?” asked a distraught Rupa Kadam from Sion who is working from home.Meanwhile, vegetable markets have been shut in G(south) ward in Worli, E ward in Byculla, D ward in Malabar Hill, K(west) ward in Andheri, Vile Parle and Juhu, H(east) ward in Bandra, Khar and Santacruz (east) and P (north) ward in Malad from Thursday. A circular, already issued in D and G south wards, states that street vendors won’t be allowed to operate from April 9-14. Strict action will be taken if any street vendor is caught selling vegetables and fruits during this period. However, authorised shops and supermarkets are outside the purview of this ban as long as they observe social distancing norms. However, M (west) ward in Chembur issued a circular that street vendors and markets only around containment zones will be shut down.