Mumbai: In view of the erratic supply of farm produce during the lockdown and the ban on roadside vegetable vendors, housing societies, local ward offices and corporators have started directly procuring fruits and vegetables from farmers.
The lockdown amid the coronavirus outbreak has resulted in labourers and suppliers fleeing to their native towns.
This has disrupted supply, as with fewer freight and labour services, the supply of vegetables from the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) in Vashi, Navi Mumbai, to various parts of Mumbai has been severely affected. With stocks running low, prices have begun spiralling.
To deal with this crisis, the BMC has come up with the idea to directly procure produce from farmers in the state and deliver it to housing societies at reasonable prices.
On its Twitter page, the BMC has provided contact details of the suppliers, whom the residents of housing societies need to contact and place orders for doorstep delivery.
"We have come up with this initiative to ensure minimal human contact. We have provided details on our Twitter handle and sent out notifications to the committee members as well," said a civic official. "Vegetable retailers are fleecing public and there is not adequate supply either.
This initiative will also help keep the prices of these goods in check," said the official. Since farmers will directly deal with consumers, without a middleman, supplies will reach buyers faster and they will get fresh fruits and vegetables, at reasonable prices.
"When markets were in operation, it was really difficult for us to procure adequate amounts of vegetables and we would exhaust our stock in a couple of hours.
Because of this, people would have to return the following day," said Yash Shah, a Mumbai resident, whose society has adopted this new method of buying vegetables directly from farmers.
"This method is quite cost-effective, and we get fresh vegetables as they come directly from the farms. Also, as there are no middlemen involved, so produce is cheaper," said Shah. Kitchen staples are being sold between Rs 25-35 per kg, whereas in markets, the price was as high as Rs 40 per kg.
"In buying directly from the farmer, social distancing is maintained even as people get what they want, in an organised manner," said Oshiwara resident Mayank Desai, whose housing society too has switched to this method.
Farmers too are happy with this system as they find it easier to do business in this manner. "To sell our vegetables, we had to stand in queues and wait for seven or eight hours through the night, to be ready with our produce when the APMC opened," said Ram Govale, a vendor.
