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Entry of general public banned in Sahibabad market after videos of crowds gathering emerge
After videos of people flouting of norms of social distancing went viral, officials banned the entry of general public in Ghaziabad’s biggest government vegetable
After videos of people flouting of norms of social distancing went viral, officials banned the entry of general public in Ghaziabad’s biggest government vegetable market — Sahibabad Mandi. The officials said that from now on only the wholesalers and retailers will be allowed to enter the market and operations will take place between 10pm to 7am.
The decision was taken by officials when, two days ago, some videos went viral in which huge crowd of local residents and traders were seen buying and selling vegetables within the Sahibabad market premises. The market is a favourite destination of residents of Indirapuram, Vasundhara, Vaishali and Sahibabad to buy fresh produce.
“The entry of general public in the market has been banned as social distancing was not being followed. From now on, only the wholesalers and retailers will be allowed inside the market. We already have 600 registered wholesalers and passes will be issued to retailers who are attached to the wholesalers. Others who are not attached to the wholesalers will be issued passes only if they are able to produce bills of previous purchases,” said Vishvendra Kumar, secretary of Mandi Samiti.
The Sahibabad vegetable market sees the entry of about 800-1000 retailers each day while the wholesalers have shops inside the market.
“The produce, in the form of fruits and vegetables, is transported via 50 trucks and other vehicles from different states, including Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir, western Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat, among others. Exit is also given to about 800 vehicles which are brought in by retailers. Since the entry of public is now banned, residents need not come to the market. They can make purchases from the retailers in their areas,” Singh added.
Sahibabad police, on Saturday, also registered an FIR against 18 persons under sections 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) and 271 (disobedience to quarantine rule) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
“The 18 persons who were booked were all retailers. They were let off after they furnished personal bonds. We conducted a raid early on Saturday morning and found that people were crowding and not observing social distancing, while the retailers had set up temporary shops where they were selling vegetables to the public,” said Rakesh Mishra, circle officer (Sahibabad).
“Despite the lockdown, people were running to the vegetable market to get their daily supplies. This also jeopardised social distancing,” he added.
As per new the norms, only farmers, wholesalers, etc. will be allowed entry to the market from 10pm to 1am while the retailers who come for purchase of fruits and vegetables will be allowed entry from 1am to 7am every day.
The district is presently under lockdown and one of the 14 hot-spot areas from where positive cases of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) have emerged. It has been under complete sealing from April 9. The administration has assigned different vendors for the supply of milk, fruits, vegetables, medicines and grocery items to each of the 14 hotspots.
