State godowns running out of FMCG products
Neeraj Bagga
Tribune News Service
Amritsar, April 29
Clearing and forwarding godowns in the state, which are also called mother godowns, are fast running out of stocks of FMCG products, as no fresh supplies are being received from other states due to the curfew.
Besides the holy city, there are godowns in Zirakpur, Ludhiana, Phagwara and Jalandhar. Anil Kapoor, the president of the Amritsar Distributors Association (ADA), said: “The mother godowns store FMCG products such as packaged snacks, soaps, toothpastes, ketchups, biscuits and other ready-to-eat packaged items for a month.
He said with no fresh stocks coming from outside the state, the clearing and forwarding godowns were tottering on the brink of being declared dry.
Kapoor said the major concern was that the companies had also ceased production. “So there is a fear that it may take some time in re-filling the stocks after the curfew,” he said.
Adequate stocks of cereals, pulses
Anil Kapoor said there was no problem in stocks of cereals, pulses and lentils, despite the fact that most of them come from other states. Their rates were already 30 per cent higher than those applicable before the curfew, he said.
On the other hand, wholesale dealers said the sale of cereals, pulses and lentils had come down in the market as a majority of people had stocked these products before the curfew and the low prices of vegetables had cornered the entire demand.
The dealers urged the government to let shops open on alternate days. They said the police must enforce social distancing and challan violators. Manish Poddar, an entrepreneur, said even markets can be allowed to open on alternate days to streamline the traffic on roads.
