The bus bays and platforms at the bus stand on Mettupalayam Road were converted into stalls for vegetable vendors on Saturday.
Nearly 250 vendors, who had shops at the Anna Market, shifted to the bus stand, located just opposite the market.
The district administration had taken efforts to decongest the vegetable markets in the city as a precautionary measure against spread of COVID-19 and alloted space at the Mettupalayam Road, Gandhipuram, and Ukkadam bus stands for the vegetable traders.
R. Rajalingam, a grocer from Karunanidhi Nagar, said he had stocked goods for a week even before the lockdown and had not purchased much during the last few days. He was at the Mettupalayam Road bus stand to buy vegetables for his shop.
Zakir Hussain, who has a stall at Anna market, for the last 23 years had spread out brinjals, okra, and broad beans at the market on Saturday. “The rates are moderate. But there is no supply of vegetables from places such as Dindigul, the Nilgiris and Karnataka. We were told about shifting temporarily to the bus stand on Friday and were given space at the bus stand,” he said.
At Ukkadam bus stand, about 120 shops, including 100 that sell vegetables, had moved to the Ukkadam bus stand from the Ukkadam market. The stalls are open from 4 a.m. to 10 a.m.
At Gandhipuram, the traders from Thyagi Kumaran market, numbering a more than 100, set shop a little later on Saturday.
Space has been allotted for 407 shops at the Mettupalayam Road bus stand. On Saturday, 250 sold the vegetables from there. All those who received vegetables from the Nilgiris did not set shop as there were no supplies. From Sunday, boxes and circles will be marked in front of each stall to ensure buyers stand in queues and maintain personal distancing, said an official.
S.K. Shahid Hamid, secretary of Ukkadam Market Vegetable Traders’ Association, said the traders had shifted to the bus stand at the request of the government. But they faced problems in transporting the vegetables. The police stopped the vehicles and if there were no vegetables after the sales, the traders had a tough time convincing the police, he said. The district administration can give passes to the association and it will distribute the passes, he added.
A group of traders at the Mettupalayam road bus stand also said that they faced challenges in transporting the vegetables. Sometimes they had to wait for nearly 30 minutes for the police to permit them to move.
“We are not getting vegetables from Ooty. The vehicle owners are not willing to travel to Coimbatore even if we are ready to pay rentals,” said one of the traders at Ukkadam.
According to Lawrence Agro Processing India, an integrated agriculture value chain firm, though the company has taken several measures to ensure its fleet managers and operators are adequately protected, there are restrictions in moving the vegetables from the Nilgiris to others parts of the State and other States too. Fresh fruits and vegetables are essential commodities.
“We sincerely request the State Governments to intervene on an immediate basis and clarify the position to the check post authorities who are playing an important role,” said Palat Vijayaraghavan, founder of LEAF.
