Khadak cops limit vendors to 12 noon

Such action is in clear contravention of Union govt’s guidelines; CP feigns ignorance

Cops from Khadak police station have unilaterally announced that selling of fruits and vegetables in the markets that fall into their jurisdiction will be allowed to operate only till 12 noon every day.

This comes at a time when rumours have been making the rounds that the city will be put under lockdown again, considering the rise in coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases.

Without waiting for confirmation of these rumours, police have reached out to vegetable vendors in Shukrawar Peth, Guruwar Peth and nearby areas, claiming that there will be a lockdown and the time of selling fruits and vegetables is restricted to 7 am to 12 noon.

Most vegetable vendors in the area who sit in the markets wrapped up their business on Sunday around 1 pm and left, claiming that they have no other choice.

The markets in the area usually start at 9.30 am and the vendors are unhappy that they are restricted to a specific slot even when central government norms state otherwise.

Vandana Ghogare, a vegetable vendor from the area, said, "They told us that from Monday onwards, strict norms are going to be implemented and we won't be able to sit here for long. We cannot or don't want to argue with cops and incite trouble. Every day, the quota that we buy from the farmers is fixed and it's difficult to sell these items in a short span of time."

Another vendor Ramesh Dighe added, "People start coming to buy vegetables from 9 am onwards while we also come from outskirts of Pune. How are we supposed to sell only from 7 am to 12 noon? We heard that there's no lockdown and yet, cops are harassing us by saying that we cannot sell our items after 12 noon. And if they care so much about social distancing, same should apply for all the areas in the city."

A constable from the Khadak police station, on condition of anonymity, said, "Cases in the city are on a rise and measures need to be taken to bring them in check. We have told vegetable and fruit vendors that there will be a lockdown from Monday and they will not be able to sell their produce after 12 noon. This will keep crowds in check."

Bharat Jadhav, inspector of the station, said, "This is to ensure that no crowding happens as we noticed that people are not following social distancing norms."

No such action has otherwise been followed anywhere in the city and senior cops are clueless about this decision.

Speaking about the step taken by Khadak police station, police commissioner K Venkatesham told Mirror , "This has not been issued by the Pune police and we have not given vegetable vendors a particular slot for selling goods. We will have to check with the cops from that particular police station as to why they have taken this decision. So far, we are not even aware of it."

Kailas Mankar, an activist from Swargate, was informed about this by the vendors and he has assured that the issue will be taken up with corporators and cops. He said, "The cops cannot make their own rules. With volunteers, I will go to the area on Monday and make sure that the vegetable vendors carry out their business like usual."