"Very few trucks with vegetables, grains, fruits, spices, visit APMC"

Four more cases of Coronavirus were reported from the APMC market mdash three in the vegetable and one in the grain market mdash on Thursday increasing the uncertainty about the operation of the wholesale grain and vegetable marketThe infected include three traders and one purchaser APMC already has 24 traders and 16 staff including security guards NMMC doctors and a pharmacist in homequarantine after they came in contact with an infected person Besides 14 others from the market are infected The spike also raises concerns about the steps taken by the APMC committee to combat the spread of the virus at the cost of nearly a croreShivaji Daund commissioner of the Konkan division said We are awaiting the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporations NMMC report on the latest positive cases Accordingly we will decide on whether to continue the operationsA crore spent on precautionsShashikant Shinde APMC elected committee member and Mathadi workers union leader said Last week six positive cases were reported at a hotel within APMC premises It was decided that the market would shut down but due to government pressure the decision was changed and only the hotel was sealed Vegetable trucks are directly entering Mumbai Very few trucks with vegetables grains fruits spices visit APMCShinde added that according to the government APMC is an essential service and hence cannot be shut down I had recently suggested that we keep the market open for just three days of the week The suggestion was turned downHighly placed APMC officials said the committee has spent nearly R1 crore to set up disinfectant spraying machines a war room and to get the market cleaned twice a week Another nearly R50 lakh was spent to make alternative arrangements for 402 stalls for vegetable and fruit vendors in Kharghar but that wont be utilised as traders feel the market in Vashi is already setMarket insiders said We are using disinfectants and have thermal scanners at the main entrance but nothing can detect asymptomatic falsepositive carriers of COVID19 People coming in contact with such carriers are testing positive The number will only increase in the coming daysAnother elected member of the APMC committee said Another problem is traders placing orders for multiple trucks full of produceWe allow only three hundred trucks to enter APMC per day and 300 are parked at the terminal waiting for entry This shows that some traders are keen on making money during a pandemicSecurity officer infectedLast week a 50yearold security officer attached to the Maharashtra Security Board and deployed at APMC tested positive Five security guards three officers and two clerks attached to the fruit market had come in contact with him and were sent to homequarantineWe were tested two days ago The report will come in another two days We are asymptomatic and are in home quarantine The security officer used to attend meetings and take rounds of the fruit market said Ishwar Masram deputy secretary of the fruit market who is also in home quarantineSources within the market said Though it is not clear how the security officer got infected the buzz in the market is that he attended a meeting organised by a state minister who is recuperating after getting infected Our concern is that it is practically difficult to trace whom the concerned person came in contact with unless the person has downloaded the governments Ayush application that maps positive patients and their contactsAPMC has a staff of 550 people The concern is that if one tests positive 10 to 15 people contacts will have to be traced and tested This means the number of working men will reduce as everyone will have to be quarantined said Shirish Badgujar assistant secretary APMCCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news