Farmers Movement Archive

Fruit trader selling masks, hand sanitisers to make ends meet

With the lockdown adversely affecting small traders, Jayant Jagga, a local fruit dealer at Maqsudan fruits and vegetables mandi, has now switched to the sale of masks, sanitisers, gloves and polythene bags.Jagga, who was a commission agent of all seasonal fruits, says commercial activities have come to a standstill during the lockdown. To make both ends meet, he has now started selling Covid safety kits, which now only seem to be in demand."When the curfew was imposed on March 23, we tried to sell all our fruits kept in the stock. We did not earn much as most of the stock was sold at throwaway prices. I had been into the fruit business for the last one decade. This is for the first time that I witnessed such a huge downfall. The business remained only 10-20 per cent after the curfew. As only vendors with passes were allowed to enter the mandi, the demand suddenly fell. I was forced to look for alternates to make both ends meet," added Jagga.He says he would resume the fruit business only when residents would be also allowed to enter the mandi as daily wagers do not invest in costly fruits.

The Tribune

2020-05-22

Jalandhar