Officials from the large vegetable markets at Paravai and Mattuthavani have decided that they will not shut down but continue to receive their supplies though they have no facility to store the perishable vegetables.
The Paravai vegetable market on the city's outskirts sees about 50 to 60 lorries from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Delhi as well as lndore and Agra bringing loads of vegetables every day. Uncertainty prevails among the vendors as to how to price their vegetables following the information circulated amongst them saying the markets would be shut from March 19.
Manuel Jeyaraj, president of the Paravai Vegetable Market association said there was no direction from the government yet on closure of markets. "We get our potatoes from Indore, Delhi and Agra, onions from Maharashtra, and vegetables such as cauliflower, beans and carrots from Karnataka in tonnes. These are perishable items that are essentials too, so they cannot close the markets,” he told.
A local vendor in the market said they were told that lorries from outstation would not be permitted into Tamil Nadu from March 21, "This will definitely cause a crisis, at least as far as potatoes and onions are concerned.”
