Mini-goods carriers with public address system soliciting patronage for vegetables brought in these vehicles during morning hours have become a common feature in most of the hamlets in the northern part of the Thanjavur district in view of the prohibitory orders in force.

Though mobile marketing of vegetables was not new in rural pockets, the number of such vehicles frequenting the villages in a day has increased. In the Thiruvaiyaru-Papanasam-Kumbakonam belt, on an average two to three vehicles visit a hamlet in a day giving consumers choice to procure vegetables at a competitive rate.

The service has been provided by vendors having their shops in Thiruvaiyaru, Ayyampettai, and Papanasam by hiring mini-goods carriers or pressing into service their own vehicles which were used to procure vegetables from major vegetable markets in Tiruchi, Thanjavur and Kumbakonam.

“I used to procure certain vegetables from Tiruchi and Kumbakonam market and purchase some vegetables directly from farmers in Sundaraperumalkovil and Swamimalai belt and sell them in my shop at Ayyampettai,” said a vegetable trader, Baskar of Ayyampettai.

“Given the lockdown the number of retail vendors procuring vegetables from my shop has dwindled and hence I decided to take up mobile marketing in my own vehicle”, he said.

Initially, he could not find takers for his service but as the days rolled by people started purchasing vegetables from him as they were unable to move out from their hamlets such as Ganapathi Agraharam, Boothangudi and others located around Ayyampettai.

“In the initial days of the lockdown, there were less than 10 such vending vans but now nearly 50 such vehicles are plying in this region”, he said.

Narrating a similar story, Raju of Swamimalai said he leaves home by 4 a.m. and gets back by. “I try to cover as many villages as possible in Swamimalai, Darasuram, and Sundaraperumalkovil belt and every day I am able to get a few hundred rupees as profit after meeting out the expenses such as procurement cost, vehicle hire charges, driver batta etc,” he said.

Meanwhile, G. Srinivasan of Ganapathi Agraharam said the services offered by the vegetable vendors were of immense help to the villagers as the local vendors were unable to pile up their stock in view of the restriction on shop functioning timings. Though the cost was a little bit higher, consumers have been left with no other option than to depend on these service providers in view of the lockdown.