Traders of Ernakulam market seek govt intervention

KOCHI: Traders of Ernakulam market and Broadway have landed in financial crisis after the area was sealed off on July 1 following threat of Covid-19 community spread. Over 10,000 employees and their employers were suddenly deprived of their livelihood after around 2,140 shops were closed down. The move by the authorities to extend closure of the market by one more week due to reporting of a positive case from the area on Wednesday has dealt a severe blow to traders who were planning to get back to business.

Three more markets — Chambakkara, Varapuzha and Aluva — were also ordered shut in the last few days following Covid threat which might push up the prices of vegetables, fruits and fish. Presently, Maradu vegetable market (Nettoor) is the only functioning wholesale vegetable market in the district which may further push up the price of vegetables. 

“There has been an increase of `5 to `15 (per kg) in the prices of vegetables, including tomatoes, ginger, carrot and green chillies. The spike in prices is due to the fact that retailers have to spend more for ferrying the stock from Maradu market (Nettoor),” said N H Shameed, wholesale dealer and secretary of Ernakulam Market Stall Owners Association (EMSOA). Lady’s finger, cabbage, bitter gourd and brinjal are some of the other vegetables whose prices have gone up.Similarly, there has been a 10 to 20 per cent jump in the wholesale price of fruits such as mangoes and apples. 

“The supply of apples has reduced considerably after the markets in Bengaluru were shut down. The limited supply has had an impact on the prices of   fruits,” said Mohammed Faizal, a wholesale fruit seller. 
According to K M Vipin, secretary, Kerala Merchants Chamber of Commerce (KMCC), most of the traders couldn’t shift their stock before the markets were declared as containment zones and this has also contributed to   massive loss. 

“Provision stores situated in the market still have a lot of unsold commodities, including rice, pulses and cereals, which are getting damaged every day due to rat infestation. Our only request to the   authorities is to allow the grocery store owners to get their stock out to prevent further spoilage,” Vipin said.EMSOA and KMCC traders union had held meetings with the district collector on Thursday over the possibility of reopening the market. “We had requested the authorities to open the market for three hours to clean the shops and remove the stock which can be distributed to other places without leading to wastage,” said Shameed, secretary, EMSOA.