Coimbatore: Wholesale shops on what used to be one of the busiest streets in Coimbatore before lockdown are again overcrowding due to small traders rushing to buy vegetables. This has prompted police officials to take action.
Coimbatore: Wholesale shops on what used to be one of the busiest streets in Coimbatore before lockdown are again overcrowding due to small traders rushing to buy vegetables. This has prompted police officials to take action.
With lockdown imposed all across Tamil Nadu by the Government for the past three weeks to curb the second wave of Covid-19, the Government has decided to allow a few relaxations for traders to sell vegetables door-to-door to benefit people and prevent them from stepping out.
Using this as an excuse, many small traders were seen flouting Covid-19 safety norms by throwing caution to the wind. Gathering in wholesale shops at midnight to buy vegetables to sell, these traders reportedly did not wear masks nor maintained social distancing, which could make way for clusters.
“The traders are not following any measures taken by the Government to prevent the spread even though there are police officials deputed at the site to monitor activities,” complained a source.
This has however irked wholesale traders on Gowder Street too. Association members have made the effort to announce through loudspeakers for small traders to adhere to Covid-19 safety measures. It has been reported that police officials have also levied fine on those who flouted traffic rules by parking motorcycles in a way that caused inconvenience to the public.
Sources within Coimbatore vegetable and market associations opine that the reason for small traders flouting Covid safety norms could be because they thought that the stock may not be available since the demand for vegetables was more.
“They do not want to flout the rules by not maintaining social distancing. It might have happened because they feared that there won’t be any stocks left and due to that they overcrowded," said a former onion trader and member of the Vegetable Association of Coimbatore, upon condition of anonymity.
It is expected that the Coimbatore Corporation will soon have to step in to ensure trading is done in a manner that does not violate Covid-19 preventive measures.
With lockdown imposed all across Tamil Nadu by the Government for the past three weeks to curb the second wave of Covid-19, the Government has decided to allow a few relaxations for traders to sell vegetables door-to-door to benefit people and prevent them from stepping out.
Using this as an excuse, many small traders were seen flouting Covid-19 safety norms by throwing caution to the wind. Gathering in wholesale shops at midnight to buy vegetables to sell, these traders reportedly did not wear masks nor maintained social distancing, which could make way for clusters.
“The traders are not following any measures taken by the Government to prevent the spread even though there are police officials deputed at the site to monitor activities,” complained a source.
This has however irked wholesale traders on Gowder Street too. Association members have made the effort to announce through loudspeakers for small traders to adhere to Covid-19 safety measures. It has been reported that police officials have also levied fine on those who flouted traffic rules by parking motorcycles in a way that caused inconvenience to the public.
Sources within Coimbatore vegetable and market associations opine that the reason for small traders flouting Covid safety norms could be because they thought that the stock may not be available since the demand for vegetables was more.
“They do not want to flout the rules by not maintaining social distancing. It might have happened because they feared that there won’t be any stocks left and due to that they overcrowded," said a former onion trader and member of the Vegetable Association of Coimbatore, upon condition of anonymity.
It is expected that the Coimbatore Corporation will soon have to step in to ensure trading is done in a manner that does not violate Covid-19 preventive measures.