Long queues of vendors witnessed at sabzi mandi in Jalandhar

Jalandhar, April 7

An attempt of the administration to check rush and maintain social distance at Maqsudan sabzi mandi is leading to delay and formation of long queues of vendors every morning on the old GT Road.

As vendors reach the mandi every morning, officials allow them only in small numbers at a time so that there is no rush and each one of them maintains social distancing while picking daily lot of fresh vegetables and fruits for retail sales outside.

Each vendor is also checked by a team of IMA doctors at the site for any signs of coronavirus or fever using thermal guns. The queues outside the mandi are getting so long that sometimes these stretch up to a few kilometers. “There are about 250 arhtiyas having their outlets at the mandi. Each one of them has two-three labourers for unloading and loading jobs. Since there is a population of about 12 lakh in Jalandhar, there are 500-700 vegetable vendors who keep touring around their areas in the city to sell vegetables. In all, there are about 1,500 persons who gather in the mandi every morning and our whole idea is to ensure that there is no rush inside at a given point of time,” said DC Varinder K Sharma.

He said: “We have been trying to streamline things and have even formed a committee comprising a District Market Officer, an IAS officer, SDM and a PPS officer to look into day-to-day issues. We cannot shut the mandi in curfew as people need fresh fruits and vegetables to have a good immunity to fight against the disease.” — TNS