Potatoes left to rot at Yeshwantpur APMC Market due to coronavirus lockdown

Closure of hotels, chips-making shops, and restrictions on marriage and other events have left potato traders severely affected in Bengaluru. Adding to woes, the large-scale migration of labourers from Bengaluru to North India and the shifting of the APMC market from Yeshwantpur to Dasanapura has also cast a dark spell on the potato trading in Bengaluru.

As a result, several hundred tonnes of potatoes that arrived at Yeshwantpur APMC Market has now begun to rot. Even though the state government has allowed trading activities between 6:00 am and 10:00 pm, many traders are finding it tough to transport potatoes from their warehouse in Yeshwantpur to Dasanapura and bring it back after the trade. Mahesh, a potato trader at Yeshwantpur stated that on Friday alone as many as 60 bags full of potatoes were found rotten.

Also read: Over 50 Bengaluru policemen test positive for Covid-19 in one day

"Under these lockdown conditions, with great difficulty, we managed to arrange for labourers to sort out the best ones from the rotten ones. The shift in the business place and short duration of business activity has severely affected our trade. Also, the North-Indian labourers who predominantly use potatoes in cooking have also gone back in large numbers. Demand from hotels, chips industry has also slumped due to lockdown," Mahesh explained.

The Onion-Potato traders association at Yeshwanthpur alleged that they have been deliberately targetted by the government while allowing other traders trading in groceries to operate from the Yeshwantpur market itself. "If the buyers coming to APMC for grocery, they will also buy onion and potato. But only we have been moved out of Yeshwantpur APMC while grocery traders are allowed to do business. Buyers are also finding it tough to get it from Dasanapura which is far from the city. All this had led to the poor sale of potatoes," explained Uday Shankar, Secretary of the Association.