With weekly markets shut, vendors wonder how to make ends meet

Thirty three-year-old Ramvir Singh had purchased new stock of children’s wear from his wholesaler on Saturday meant to be sold on the streets of east Delhi’s Acharya

Thirty three-year-old Ramvir Singh had purchased new stock of children’s wear from his wholesaler on Saturday meant to be sold on the streets of east Delhi’s Acharya Niketan, where a weekly market gathers hundreds every Monday. By late that evening, the Delhi government, considering the increasing number of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in Delhi-NCR, issued an advisory for closure of all weekly markets, gyms, nightclubs and spas till March 31.

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As the details of the announcement started doing the rounds, panic spread in the market. Vendors were worried about how they would earn and manage their resources for the rest of the month if there was a moratorium on their primary source of income.

“The vegetable vendors will still be able to manage by going door to door. How will we survive? Our primary income comes from selling non-essential items in weekly markets. Where will we go?” Singh said, adding that many like him, who sell small toys, plastic wares and household utensils, rely on such markets to earn a livelihood; they pack and move their wares from one locality to another primarily because of problems faced while getting permission from the police and municipalities.

The Delhi government has ordered that crowds should be discouraged, especially in areas where the transmission of Covid-19 virus is more likely. All educational institutions, movie theatres, malls, spas and nightclubs have been asked to stay shut till March 31.

Pinku Kumar, a fruit vendor in south Delhi’s Kalkaji, said that he usually earns more from weekly markets more than the door-to-door sales made through the week. “I go around all day and barely earn enough. We have Sunday markets here and that is when all the residents come and purchase in bulk. We also stock up for these weekly markets and I am not sure if I will be able to sell everything without it going bad,” Kumar said.

Vendors in southwest Delhi’s Dwarka, which mostly constitutes gated neighbourhoods, said that vendors only depend on weekly markets here as it’s not possible to go door-to-door.

Dharminder Pal, a vendor in the sub-city, said they even pay local vendors’ associations for a slot in the weekly markets. “There is no other way to sell your items here. We don’t know how an alternative will be worked out,” he said.

Many said the panic around the virus was so rampant that people have already started relying on online grocery delivery services instead of going out to buy food essentials. People have also started stocking up on essential groceries and other household items fearing the possibility a shortage in the coming days.

“The physical proximity in markets is dangerous now, but even online portals are taking a lot of time to deliver. It’s possibly because everyone is trying to hoard in panic anticipating a lockdown,” Vasant Vihar resident Shireen Mathews said voicing vendors’ fears.