Patna,(BiharTimes): As medicine and other whole-sale business the food, fruit, fish and vegetable ‘mandis’ were badly hit by the demonetization of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes.
The problem with fruit and food dealeers is much more complicated as they deal in perishable goods. The traders at Anta Ghat, Mussallahpur Haat and Bazar Samiti have suffered huge losses. Similar reports are coming in from the fruit and vegetable markets all over the state––and of course, all over the country.
In the first three or four days the number of vegetable vendors came down drastically. However, their number picked up in the last couple of days.
The whole-sale foodgrains market at Maroofganj in Patna City, the biggest wholesale hub in Bihar, witnessed a fall in business by 75 per cent.
On an average they do business of Rs 10 crore daily. Now the figure has come down to around Rs 2.5 crore. This is the business when it is a marriage season and the traders were expecting to do better.
No different is the situation in Daldali near Gandhi Maidan.
Maharajganj market, also in Patna City, generally sees daily sales of around Rs two crore; it is now scraping up just about Rs 25-30 lakh.
Bazaar Samiti, Patna’s biggest wholesale fruit market, which used to have daily sales of more than Rs 10 lakh, has almost collapsed. Sales at present stand at Rs 1-2 lakh only.
According to Haji Mohammad Alam, president, Patna Food Merchants’ Association traders accepted Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes in the initial two or three days on humanitarian grounds as people came from distant places such as Ara, Naubatpur, Fatuha, Danapur etc. However, they later stopped accepting the bigger notes. This has hit the market hard as people in general are saving the smaller notes for their basic necessities.
There is a general complaints from the traders that they sometimes fear that the situation may turn ugly as the customers insist on taking old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes.
Caterers are also hit in this marriage season. One of them told BiharTimes that several marriages have been postponed or made a very low key affair. Thus all those engaged in the related business have been affected.
“I have purchased ‘basmati’ rice and mustard oil worth thousands of rupees from Biscomaun outlet as they are accepting old currency notes,” one of them said on condition of anonymity.
