It was a field day at vegetable and meat markets in the city as a large number of people swarmed these places to grab their quota.
Haggling over prices
This being the first Sunday of the 10-day lockdown imposed in the State, family heads and their attendants jostled into these cramped markets and were seen haggling over prices. The scene was no different even at small outlets selling meat in by-lanes.
Prices jacked up
Though there was no restriction on the movement of goods, prices were jacked up by at least 20-50% in the vegetable markets, and the same was the scene at fish and meat markets. However, at some frequently visited chicken markets, the crowds were comparatively thin on Sunday as some got the news that birds were affected by an unknown virus at some poultries.
Like hot cake
The fish market at Musheerabad is the go to market as regular consumers and big players place orders for more than usual consumption. There, hundreds of buyers were stacked-up like sardines to grab their portion of meat for Sunday’s feast.
Meanwhile, local meat sellers in bastis and colonies jacked up the prices and made a killing by selling a kilogram of chicken at ₹250 to ₹270, whereas branded retailers were selling at a huge discount in the range of ₹150 to ₹170 per kilogram.
“I went to four chicken shops in my area, and there was a huge crowd at every place. Forget about physical distance, people were not even wearing masks. Finally, I managed to get 1 kg of skinless chicken for myself and my roomies,” said Pranay of Film Nagar basti in Jubilee Hills, who shares a one bedroom house with two others.
Similar was the situation near a multi-storied shopping mall at the busy Kachiguda, where pushcart vendors and other sellers occupied a good portion of the roadside to sell vegetables and fruits. Adding to the confusion was the huge trucks of GHMC which were out to collect garbage from dustbins at the same time.