Farmers Movement Archive

Vendors crowd up to buy veggies from bulk suppliers

Tribune News ServiceAmritsar, May 15The purpose of allowing the retail sale of vegetables at Vallah Sabzi market has been completely defeated, as retailers buying from bulk suppliers gather on the roadside caring two hoots for social-distancing norms.The district administration has issued limited entry passes to vendors. As a result, these pass holders buy vegetables in bulk and have turned into “middle men”. They buy vegetables from the mandi and sell it to non-pass holder vendors at self-established selling points.There are several self-established selling points on the bypass road, where bulk suppliers sell vegetables to vendors. A large number of vendors and unemployed youth gather at these points to buy veggies early in the morning.A selling point near Gurdwara Baba Shri Chand on Majitha-Verka Bypass Road witnessed heavy rush of buyers. Malkeet Singh, a vegetable vendor, said: “I don’t have an entry pass for the Sabji Mandi. So, we buy vegetable from those who have passes. They earn their profit for supplying vegetables to us. This increases the price of vegetables as more people are sharing the profit.”Meanwhile, some vendors are directly approaching farmers for good price of vegetables. By this, the end customers get vegetables cheaper than market rates.“I visit Pandori village every morning and buy vegetables from farmers directly. After bypassing all middle men in Sabzi Mandi, I provide quality produce on economical rates,” a vendor at Tungbala area said.

The Tribune

2020-05-16