The Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) administration has appealed to all the traders and visitors to wear masks on market premises to prevent the spread of Covid 19. During waves one and two, the APMC market was the hot spot of Covid and even the market was closed for a week to sterilize the premises.
The APMC Vashi supplies essential commodities to the MMR area and its function is important for uninterrupted supplies from vegetables to food grains.
More than 50,000 people visit the APMC market every day and there is a high possibility of the spread of Covid among visitors. A senior administrative official from APMC said that they have asked all market directors to appeal to traders, farmers and retailers visiting the market to wear masks and maintain a distance. “Since the number of Covid cases is rising, there is a need for precaution,” said the official. He added that once they get guidelines from the local body, they will follow them.
Meanwhile, the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) has appealed to citizens to wear masks in public places and maintain a social distance. The civic chief Abhijit Bangar held a meeting on Tuesday and directed officials to strictly implement the Covid protocols in the city. In the first week of June, more than 500 new cases of Covis have been reported in the city and the number of active cases is rising per day. However, the majority of them are getting treatment at home and only 10 patients are admitted to Covid Care Centre at the Vashi Exhibition centre.
After the outbreak of the pandemic and subsequent rise in Covid cases, the market was closed for a week. However, in order to maintain the supply of essential commodities like fruits, vegetables, onion and potatoes, trucks laden with these commodities were directly diverted to Mumbai and other places. According to traders at APMC, they are asking visitors to wear masks as cases are rising and they do not want a similar situation to arise again.
