Mumbai to Prayagraj: Man uses onion 'passport' to cross lockdown barriers

Kapil Dixit | TNN | Updated: Apr 27, 2020, 10:02 IST

A policeman stops a vehicle during the nationwide lockdown in Prayagraj

PRAYAGRAJ: Stranded in Mumbai’s Dharavi slum due to lockdown, a Prayagraj native found a unique way to get past travel restrictions and reach his hometown — carrying a truckload of onion. He got the permit to travel as onion is an essential commoity and its shipment is not banned.
Prem Murti Pandey, 56, works at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport and had been stranded in the city ever since the lockdown was announced. “When I noticed that Covid-19 cases were rising at an alarming rate in Dharavi, it became difficult for me to stay there any longer,” said Pandey.
“I realised that I would be allowed to enter the city if I was a vegetable or fruit trader,” he added. The Union government has not imposed any curbs on transportation of vegetables and fruits, as they come under essential commodities category.
On April 16, Pandey purchased watermelons worth Rs 10,000 and sold them in Mumbai the next day just to test waters. Setting his plan into motion, next he bought 25.2 tonne of onion worth Rs 2.3 lakh and hired a truck for Rs 77,500 the following day. He set out for Prayagraj with truckload of onions the same day.
“I thought, I would sell it off in Prayagraj and would get my investment of approximately 3 lakh back,” he says.
Pandey reached Prayagraj on the Thursday. However, when he failed to strike a deal for the consignment, he went back to his home in Kotwa Mubarakpur area of the city. Pandey said that he was planning to sell it to smaller traders.
Sub-inspector and in charge of TP Nagar police outpost Arvind Singh said, “He was shifted to a quarantine centre on Saturday.”
Pandey is unapologetic. “I have responsibilities towards my family and I believe that I chose a perfectly lawful way to return,” Pandey said.