SHILLONG: The closure of Iewduh – Meghalaya’s largest wholesale and retail market for over two months has pushed the vendors to look for alternative methods to continue with their small businesses. On the way to Jowai at Lad Smit, at least about 50 vegetable and fruit shops have opened up. Some also use their vehicles to ply their wares. On the way to Upper Shillong, vegetable and fruit stalls have sprung up by the roadside.
On the way to Shillong Peak, near the Central Potato Research Institute also called Sanmein is a huge vegetable wholesale market which is slowly becoming the port of call for retailers and individual shoppers. Here one can see mountains of cabbages, freshly farmed carrots, radish and potatoes.
But one market that has caught the attention of the public is the one at 7th Mile Upper Shillong – Madan Umdiengpun – which is spread over a vast expanse of grassland.
A visitor even coined the name Green Market to define this spacious market surrounded by greenery and fresh air. Run and managed by the San Shnong Youth Welfare Organisation that (SSWYO), an NGO that has successfully run the Elephant Falls Tourist Spot, this market has the potential to become the alternative to Iewduh and with adequate space for social distancing.
At present, there are about 204 stalls all lined up in four rows. There is one long row selling betel nut and betel leaf. Another two rows sell vegetables, fruits, seeds and saplings. The fourth row has fish, chicken and brooms, knives, daos, baskets and gardening implements. The market has adequate parking space too.
General Secretary of the SSWYO, Lionel Nongkhlaw while speaking to this correspondent said that the area where this new market is located falls under the Dorbar Shnong Sadew which has been very cooperative.
But the mover and shaker for this novel project is Deputy Commissioner, East Khasi Hills, Matsiewdor War Nongbri who has given them the support needed to run the market, Nongkhlaw added.
That this market is professionally managed is evident from the entry point where security personnel (young ladies) employed by the SSWYO perform their duties diligently. They insist that every person entering the market wears a mask or is not allowed entry. They also spray hand sanitizers on everyone. This must be the only market where the Covid-19 protocols are strictly maintained.
Inside the market, there are other guards that ensure social distancing is maintained. Every vendor is told to carry back with them any waste generated during the time of transaction.
About 99 per cent of the vendors are women. Most of them said they used to have stalls at Iewduh but now had to look for alternatives and were happy to have found one in this market. “I was desperate to start out with my small business because my husband who is a carpenter was without work for nearly two months,” one vendor confided.
The story is nearly always the same. Quite a few women were single parents supporting a family.
Lionel Nongkhlaw who himself supervises the market through the day says, “I hope that this market continues because it will help greatly in decongesting Shillong city. We have provided toilets and enough water for washing and cleaning. Our volunteers clean the toilets thrice daily,’’ Nongkhlaw added.
The market has been running for about three weeks and is a good opportunity for farmers to sell their products. Nongkhlaw informed that in the morning, wholesalers come with their products and sell them to retailers. So, it is a boon for the farmer-producers from that area which is a farming area.
Prices of vegetables are not very different from what is sold at Iewduh and perhaps even lesser at times. Fresh carrots were selling at Rs 30 per kg, cabbages at Rs 20 per kg and potatoes at Rs 25 per kg.
The vendors feel that once the lockdown and curfew is lifted, they might see more footfalls to the market and are keeping their fingers crossed.