Pune: Wholesale grocery & jaggery market to reopen tomorrow

TNN | Updated: Apr 14, 2020, 06:58 IST

The Poona Merchants’ Chamber on Monday decided to reopen the wholesale grocery and jaggery shops from Wednesda...Read More

PUNE: The Poona Merchants’ Chamber on Monday decided to reopen the wholesale grocery and jaggery shops from Wednesday.
Popatlal Oswal, the president of the chamber, told TOI, “We had a detailed discussion about issues with the district administration as well as the city police. Both the authorities have promised us that no employee having an identify card issued by the district authorities, would face problems at checkpoints from the police.”

He said, “Our goods carriers, which come from different states, will also be permitted to commute on the city roads for supplying and delivering material to our shops. Since our major concerns have been addressed by the authorities, our members have agreed to open the shops from April 15.”
About 550 wholesalers of grocery items and jaggery are members of the Poona Merchants’ Chamber. They had decided last week to shut operations from Monday as their employees and staffers were allegedly harassed by the police at checkpoints across the city.
Oswal said, “The closure had an adverse impact on the grocery markets immediately across the city. Owners of some grocery stores had started selling many essential commodities like pulses, edible oil, groundnuts and grains at higher prices citing there was inadequate supply. The chamber’s endeavour is to change this and bring the prices within the normal range.”
Pune police commissioner K Venkatesham said, “The operation of the grocery market is necessary to make all grocery items available. The city police will extend all support to the chambers’ employees. We have given instruction to the in-charges of our police stations to allow the staffers (of the wholesale shops) after checking their credentials.”
Sachin Nivangune, the president of the Pune District Retail Merchants Association, said, “Once our shopkeepers get adequate grocery items from the wholesale market, the prices will reduce. This will maintain the demand and supply chain as well as help control prices.”
Submarkets to open soon: APMC
The Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) authorities held a meeting with commission agents and traders on Monday.
BJ Deshmukh, the chief administrator of the Market Y, said, “We shall soon restart the sub-markets of vegetables and fruits at Khadki, Uttanagar, Manjri, Moshi and Khadki in the coming days. We are discussing logistics and administrative issues with the authorities concerned and we are confident about resolving them so that we can make vegetables and fruits available.”