Mumbai civic markets stir to life after 3-month Covid stupor

MUMBAI: Municipal markets here awoke from deep corona-induced slumber of three months on Friday. After BMC permitted them markets to reopen with social distancing norms, shops on either side of lanes have begun to function on alternate days.
Business is still slow as customers are scarce, and workers and labourers have left for native villages. Still, BMC permission to reopen signals a slow return to normalcy, which requires coexisting with coronavirus.Shop-owners are distributing masks to staff, while hand-sanitiser and social distancing measures are being enforced for buyers.
Soohel Sudiwala, who runs Uncle’s Shop at Crawford Market, said around 10% shops reopened on Friday, while the rest will gradually restart, and by Monday more trade will be visible. “But there are no buyers yet. Moreover, since public transportation, mainly trains, is yet to resume, employees are unable to travel to work. Who will use his own vehicle when petrol prices are spiralling daily? I drove 100km to pick up workers from Reay Road, Chembur and Vikhroli,” he said.
Civic officials helped shop-owners with phone numbers of vendors selling masks and sanitisers.
Transporter Girish Golapkar said ever since a major fire at Crawford Market recently, power supply remains erratic. “Traders can only operate during the day. Around 40 shops out of 350 have reopened, mainly those that sell non-perishable items like tissue paper and aluminium foil. Vendors of perishable items are not operating as there are few customers, and the items could get stale,” he said.
Barricades erected in Andheri (W) municipal market were set to give way on Friday. Trader Ramesh Kumar Kumawat of Kamal Stores said, “I and my helpers returned home to Rajasthan, so my shop will not reopen till July. We don’t think it is safe to return as Mumbai is a Covid-19 hotspot.”
At Kranti Singh Nana Patil Mandai, Dadar (W), popularly known as Plaza Market, traders said barely 40 of the 250 shops were operational. Sunil Mandhare, who heads the local market association, said, “Large supplies of vegetables come from Vashi market but as most labourers returned to their home towns, there are few mathadis to load and unload goods. BMC also clamped rules like social distancing so few people can gather. Thus, traders are opting to simply shut shop,” he said.
At Malad municipal market, Mukesh Vyas who runs Pravin general store, said, “Shops on our side of the lane resumes on Thursday and were closed on Friday. They will operate on alternate days. But there are few customers. People are wary of crowds as coronavirus crisis is not over. We are giving sanitisers and masks to employees and sanitising the shop every two hours. Only two-three buyers are allowed inside at a time.” He added that labour was short and the situation could normalise only after Diwali.