SHILLONG: The so-called Garo Market, which is a favourite place for picking up fresh local produce that used to be set up on the footpath along the Polo Ground Road leading to the stadium, has now resurfaced at the parking lot next to the stadium. The parking lot used to be filled with tourists but with them gone, the makeshift market has now become more spacious and there is ample space for social distancing.
Loads of pineapples, bananas and other fruits coming straight from the orchards of Ri Bhoi are sold at very competitive prices. There are fresh vegetables, local fish but what draws people to this market are the crabs, eels and snails that are a delicacy for those with adventurous taste buds.
The eels sell at Rs 450 a kg, crabs and snails at Rs 200 a kg.
You don’t ordinarily get to see these types of crustaceans which are a traditional cuisine of many from the North East. And Shillong being the hub, many flock to this market to buy these delicacies.
Asked if they are doing as brisk a business today as they were doing earlier on the footpaths, the vendors said, “Business is low and sometimes when we cannot sell all our produce, it becomes difficult to take them back with us as there are no godowns anywhere. This is only a temporary place”.
The majority of vendors are from the Garo community. When asked where they will shift once things open up and the place returns to its former position of a parking lot, they said they will have to return to the original place — the footpath.
These days it is common to see people also selling fruits and vegetables in vehicles parked at vantage points in the city. They are a shade better than hawkers in that they don’t leave behind garbage but take them back with them.
What’s interesting and also laudable is that people are ready to earn their livelihoods rather than waiting for government doles but these are the people who could do with some help from government to scale up their businesses or for government to facilitate soft loans on easy repayment schedules.
It would enable them to think bigger and not feel destitute.
