Bengaluru: In days gone by, vegetable vendors would make their rounds of the city early every morning, shouting out the names of the veggies available with them, in rhythmic tones.
Things have changed now. With the growing number of retail supermarkets and electronic marketing of vegetables through various mobile applications, one can hardly hear or see these vendors any more.
One such vendor is Muniramu, a 65-year-old who has spent most of his life selling vegetables in the city of Bengaluru. His characteristic musical tones as he called out the list of greens he was selling (Arve Soppu, Dantina Soppu, Menthya Soppu, Palak Soppu, Chacotha Soppu, Gongura Soppu, Vandaliga Soppu, Vayunariyana Soppu, Irruli Soppu, Mullangi Soppu, Agase Soppu....Amma Soppu!) got him a lot of customers and a lot of profit too. This was the same success mantra that hundreds of vendors used, to get attention from the consumers.
But now vendors like Muniramu are finding it hard to keep their business alive. “I have been selling vegetables for the last 30 years. These days we hardly have any customers due to the spread of supermarkets. Each day we invest about Rs 2000 and at the end of the day we make a profit of just Rs 250 to Rs 300 a day. Sometimes we even incur losses,” said Muniramu.
Muniramu covers about 25 kilometers a day mostly in South Bengaluru. He buys vegetables each day from K R Market and sells them for slightly higher prices. Madhappa said,
“Supermarkets get vegetables and fruits directly from the farmers and keep away from wholesalers. Due to this the cost of the vegetables and fruits are considerably lower compared to what we offer. Private companies also issue coupons to their employees to purchase vegetables from the supermarkets for a much discounted price with many offers too.
But the question is, are these vegetables, which are stored in air-conditioned rooms, fit for consumption?" he questions. "Supermarkets do not change their vegetables every day and they are kept in big refrigerators. But there are many buyers who know that these vegetables are not fresh but still purchase them for their discounted price,” he explains.
Rathnamma, another vegetable vendor, said that many vendors like her are giving up the profession and working as housemaids. But the younger generation is still hopeful. Some of them are seen making the rounds in modified autorickshaws, loaded with vegetables, waking up people from their early morning slumber, while speakers in these autos recite a list of veggies from a pre-recorded tape on a spool.
