Cauvery's long shadow over festivities

Bengaluru: “Instead of the fragrance of fresh flowers, the stench of rotting vegetables and withering flowers has taken over. For days now, vegetable trucks have not left the market. There are only festival days, not festival spirit,” rues Dastagir Khan, president of K.R Market Traders Association.

While tension at Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border is slowly diluting and normalcy is crawling, the situation hasn’t been any good for traders ever since the Cauvery riots broke out. Unlike other festivals, days before Ayudha Pooja there has been a major dip in some of the vegetable prices as people are shying away from going to markets, Khan said.

“Most of the vegetables like carrot, cauliflower and khol-khol come from Ooty. Ever since the crisis, we are depending on local produce which isn’t fetching good profits. Further, drivers from Karnataka are refusing to go to Tamil Nadu fearing that they may get trapped if riots break out unexpectedly,” he added.

While truckers used to charge Rs 16,000 for a trip to Tamil Nadu, now they are charging Rs 24,000. Khan explained, “All the stocks have to come and go via Kerala, which is hitting us hard. Produce from Chamarajanagar, Mysuru and surrounding areas have no demand.”

‘Flower market worst hit’  
As rates of flowers continue to vary in the market, there are no takers for flowers grown in the state, Khan said. “The flower rates are consistently varying because there is no demand. While some flowers that come from Tamil Nadu get expensive on some days, most of the locally grown flowers are being thrown away because we are not able to supply them to Tamil Nadu,” he said.

‘Jaya rumours spook drivers’
The deteriorating health of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has also scared Karnataka truck drivers from going to Tamil Nadu, Khan said. “They worry that vehicles with Karnataka registration may be targeted if any major announcements on Jayalalithaa’s health are made.”