Mumbai out of supplies on Day 1

Shiv Kumar

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Tribune News Service

Mumbai, March 25

The first day of the countrywide lockdown to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus saw Mumbaiites scrambling for supplies as grocers and vegetable vendors ran out of stock.

Shops began emptying out from Tuesday evening when people rushed to stock up on food and medicines after the Prime Minister announced the 21-day lockdown.

Shopkeepers, who restock their stores three to four times a week, say they didn’t get fresh stock from their distributors. “We are not getting stock from our distributors. Milk powder, instant noodles, onions, potatoes and packaged foods are going out stock,” a provision store owner from Dahisar in suburban Mumbai said.

Though milk was available this morning, it is not clear whether the supply will be available during the remaining days of the lockdown, according to traders. “We won’t keep the shop open only to sell milk. It is not worth the trouble,” another shopkeeper said.

Traders at the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee market at Vashi in Navi Mumbai which supplies fruits and vegetables to Mumbai have been shut for the past three days.

Though the Maharashtra Government has assured that essential supplies would not be affected, police personnel on the ground are said to be harassing truck drivers. On Tuesday, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray asked senior police officials to ensure that truckers waiting on roadsides are not troubled.

Thackeray’s intervention came after videos of policemen beating up truck drivers cooking food by the roadside was circulated on social media.

State government sources say the Thackeray administration has been coordinating with various departments to ensure that the supply chain between rural and urban Maharashtra is not disrupted during the lockdown.