CHENNAI: For years now, Saturday was the slowest day of the week in terms of sales for Malini Palayam, a fishmonger who peddles her stock in the Saidapet area. But that was until the state government declared that Sundays were going to be days of “intense lockdowns” where trade of any kind would not be allowed. Now, says Malini, she works extra time on Saturdays just to keep up with the demand of her regulars stocking up for the week. “I used to sit on the pavement from 6am to 9am on Saturdays, but now I don’t leave before 1.20 pm,” she says. “I bring double my usual stock of fish on Saturday because people get angry if I run out.”
Sunday was usually the day when families would bustle about to complete their grocery shopping, meat and fruit buying for week, but the no-excuses lockdown declared on that day have resulted in Saturdays becoming the new Sunday. Fish mongers, meat delivery websites, fruit and vegetable stores all claim that Saturday has become their busiest day of the week in terms of sales.
On Saturday alone, for instance, the Tamil Nadu Fisheries Development Corporation website and app Meengal, recorded the highest amount of sales since mid-April. Official sources said that there was a 150% hike in orders compared to other days. The highest selling items were the seer slices, nethili and catla, crab. Over half a tonne kilograms of more than 15 varieties of fishes were sold on Saturday. Local meat vendors say the Saturday demand is quite literally becoming the ‘new normal’. Abdullah, a local meat vendor in the Saidapet area, says in the first week of the lockdown he was unprepared for the Saturday demand, and lost out on sales to his competitors. “But now I have caught on. I’ve stocked up for the bulk orders that come in. My customers usually cook mutton and chicken on Sundays and so would line up outside my store early in the morning. Now, they just stock up on Saturday.”
Like Abdullah, Kalaivani L, who sells vegetables on a cart, too learned the hard way about the Saturday demand. "I didn't take the first week of the intense lockdown seriously. I brought the usual amount of vegetables to sell. Within minutes of me pulling into my usual corner, I was surrounded by men and women grabbing whatever was in the cart. Most bought more than usual and I was sold out in 30 minutes. Now I bring four times my usual stock because it is a big sales day."
Triplicane resident TE Srivatsan says he went to a popular vegetable shop on RK Mutt Road on Saturday and because of the crowds, guidelines pertaining to how many people should be inside the supermarket were not followed. "In supermarkets, shelf space is maximised so the aisle space is very less. The place was crowded and people were walking rather close to each other. Those at the billing counters had also removed their masks. They complained about wearing masks constantly," he says.
Sunday was usually the day when families would bustle about to complete their grocery shopping, meat and fruit buying for week, but the no-excuses lockdown declared on that day have resulted in Saturdays becoming the new Sunday. Fish mongers, meat delivery websites, fruit and vegetable stores all claim that Saturday has become their busiest day of the week in terms of sales.
On Saturday alone, for instance, the Tamil Nadu Fisheries Development Corporation website and app Meengal, recorded the highest amount of sales since mid-April. Official sources said that there was a 150% hike in orders compared to other days. The highest selling items were the seer slices, nethili and catla, crab. Over half a tonne kilograms of more than 15 varieties of fishes were sold on Saturday. Local meat vendors say the Saturday demand is quite literally becoming the ‘new normal’. Abdullah, a local meat vendor in the Saidapet area, says in the first week of the lockdown he was unprepared for the Saturday demand, and lost out on sales to his competitors. “But now I have caught on. I’ve stocked up for the bulk orders that come in. My customers usually cook mutton and chicken on Sundays and so would line up outside my store early in the morning. Now, they just stock up on Saturday.”
Like Abdullah, Kalaivani L, who sells vegetables on a cart, too learned the hard way about the Saturday demand. "I didn't take the first week of the intense lockdown seriously. I brought the usual amount of vegetables to sell. Within minutes of me pulling into my usual corner, I was surrounded by men and women grabbing whatever was in the cart. Most bought more than usual and I was sold out in 30 minutes. Now I bring four times my usual stock because it is a big sales day."
Triplicane resident TE Srivatsan says he went to a popular vegetable shop on RK Mutt Road on Saturday and because of the crowds, guidelines pertaining to how many people should be inside the supermarket were not followed. "In supermarkets, shelf space is maximised so the aisle space is very less. The place was crowded and people were walking rather close to each other. Those at the billing counters had also removed their masks. They complained about wearing masks constantly," he says.
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