Fruit mandi owners in distress

There has been a decline in the sale of fruits in the district. Without a storage facility, the traders are unable to store the fruits for long.

Fruit mandis have bananas, watermelons, musk melon, orange and other fruits. The traders at the mandi are now engaged in segregating the rotten fruits from the heap of fruits.

Many have engaged auto and jeeps to carry fruits to various layouts in the district for sale.

"The bunches of banana in the market are a challenge for us. The business has shrunk by 70%. None of the traders and consumers are arriving for purchase following the lockdown," said Vasantha Balemandi owner Mahesh at Basavanahalli.

"It is difficult to store fruits for a longer period. Fruits lose their freshness. The sale of fruits in pushcarts has been stopped," said fruit mandi owners.

"We procure fruits from Vijayapura, Chitradurga and other areas. Most of the fruits are getting spoiled. We are in distress without business," said MGS stall owner Sayyed Muktiyar.

Farmers from Lingadahalli, Hosadurga and NR Pura are enquiring with mandi owners on whether they should get bananas and watermelons for sale.

"Even if we purchase, we are not sure of its sale. We do not know what to do," said a trader, Muniswamy.

There are no cold storage units to store fruits for a long time in the region. The government should come to our rescue, said the traders.