Andhra Pradesh: Vegetable sellers are hit by money crunch

Vijayawada: The daily business volume at the busy Kaleswara Rao Vegetable Market here has dropped from Rs 50 lakh to Rs 10 lakh.

The demonetisation step has had drastic impact on vegetable merchants and vendors, while the prices have sharply come down. Loads of vegetables are being thrown away because of the problem of lack of change. The prices of vegetables have fallen sharply too.

The Kaleswara Rao Market Ikyata committee has pleaded with the government for immediate action to set things right. The market is where around 50,000 people used to purchase vegetables a day. Now, that number has come down to about 4,000 to 5,000. Though vendors are still accepting the abolished Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 rupee notes, there is the problem of small change.

Ms Lakshamma, a vegetable vendor, said, “People are buying vegetables for Rs 60 or Rs 120, and give a Rs 500 or Rs 1,000 rupee note, and it is difficult for us to give them the change. So, they are leaving behind the vegetables and walking away. We are able to sell the vegetables to those who give change, but only one-fourth of the vegetables is sold thus, and we are dumping the leftovers,” she said.