Supermarkets witness rush

24/03/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT ,COIMBATORE

Thyagi Kumaran vegetable market in the city saw a huge rush on Monday. S. Siva Saravanan S_SIVA SARAVANAN

Indumathi, a regular customer at Thyagi Kumaran Market in the city, had to struggle to come out of the market on Monday evening after her purchases.

“Prices have doubled for all the vegetables,” she said. As the State government announced complete lockdown from 6 p.m., March 24, people rushed to super markets and vegetable markets in the city to buy their requirements.

Surya and his friends were also at the market. They are from West Bengal and working at a gold smithy in the city.

“We cannot go back home as there are no trains or buses. We usually buy vegetables at a shop nearby. Since we need to buy more vegetables, we came to the market,” he said.

“They have told us that we can keep the shops open till tomorrow evening. We do not know what will happen after that,” said an onion vendor at the market.

At the Pazhamudir Nilayam supermarket on Avinashi Road, customers waited in queues as only 50 people can be inside the market at any given time. There were repeated announcements asking customers to finish buying their needs soon so that others can come in. “We cannot run the air conditioner and cannot have a crowd inside. So we are allowing customers only in batches,” said the manager of the market.

“People are scared. We plan to keep all shops in the wholesale markets open till specific orders from the Government as vegetables are essential commodities. We will continue to receive vegetables from other States,” said M. Rajendran, president of the Thyagi Kumaran Market Vegetable Merchants Association.

Meanwhile, officials of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India inspected vegetable and fruit stalls to regulate the crowd as people rushed to them in large numbers for shopping ahead of the curfew. Food safety officials inspected stalls at Peelamedu and Arts College Road and advised management to avoid gathering of people as a precaution against possible spread of COVID-19.

While one shop was closed, people voluntarily stood in queue in another one. Food safety officials regulated the crowd pull at another shop at Ramanathapuram.