A grape vendor sits on the main road outside Kothapet fruit market ahead of Mahashivratri / Photograph by Prateek Chauhan
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City fruit vendors travel far, bear no fruit
City fruit vendors travel far, bear no fruit
The recent shift of the fruit market from Kothapet to Batasingaram has meant increased transportation costs for the vendors. As they cope with the new losses, they find no say in the decision-making process of the Telangana Government in setting up a viable place for their primary transactions.
The recent shift of the fruit market from Kothapet to Batasingaram has meant increased transportation costs for the vendors. As they cope with the new losses, they find no say in the decision-making process of the Telangana Government in setting up a viable place for their primary transactions.
On the street adjacent to the now-closed Kothapet Fruit Market, sits Asha Begum with her Mosambis (sweet lime). The street leads to the main road along which runs a sea of fruit vendors, most of them on footpaths, some behind their carts and a few on their tempos. Asha Begum too, sat at a prime spot on this stretch of the main road before she was shifted to where she now sits due to the construction of the metro back in 2015-16. “And now, they’ve shifted the entire market,” she says, frustrated.
Kothapet fruit market is gone
On July 3, 2021, the Agricultural Market Committee (AMC) of the Telangana Government took a decision to hand over the 21-acre Kothapet market premises to the Health, Medical and Family Welfare Department for the purpose of constructing a super-specialty hospital. Since 1986, Kothapet Fruit Market had served as the only government-regulated wholesale fruit market in the city.
A security guard at the now-shut Kothapet fruit market / Photograph by Prateek Chauhan
Vendors and other retailers from all over the city came here to buy fruits from the commission agents who directly purchase produce from the farmers. The market has now been temporarily shifted to the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority’s (HMDA) Logistics Park in Batasingaram, 50 kilometres away from the heart of the city, where in comparison, Kothapet was only 10 kilometres away.
New problems for the vendors
Fruit vendors across the city now have to deal with the multi-fold increase in transportation costs apart from the toil of going all the way. Mohammed Jaffer has been selling a variety of fruits in the Lingampally Rythu Bazaar for the past 11 years. In the earlier arrangement, he had multiple options to reach Kothapet — sometimes on his bike, otherwise on a direct bus and after 2017, on the metro. From there, the autowallah would charge him anywhere from Rs. 1000 to Rs. 1500, depending on the load, for ferrying the fruits to the Rythu Bazaar. With the market now 60 kilometres away from his shop, he prefers taking his Honda Shine, diagonally cutting through the city to reach the market. The bike’s fuel itself costs him around Rs. 300 per trip. From there, the autowallah charges him anywhere around Rs. 2500 for bringing the fruits back to Lingampally. The perishable nature of fruits means that the vendors have to make multiple trips in a week depending upon the sale and the size of their shops.
Due to the proximity to the Kothapet fruit market, Asha Begum could earlier avail credit from the commission agent when in need. She could repay after she sold the mosambis. Now she needs to ensure she has cash before she makes the trip to Batasingaram.
How vendors are coping
Mohammed Khaja has not increased his fruit prices. He owns a fruit stall situated a few stalls away from Mohammed Jaffer’s. Only half a dozen such fruit stalls are located in the Lingampally Rythu Bazaar. “It’s a competitive market. No one person holds power here that can dictate the terms,” he says, explaining his decision. But that would not last long. “One cannot abruptly increase the price as the customer would go to the other seller. Initially, they [vendors] will observe and then slowly price-setting will start factoring in transportation costs,” says Dr Debdulal Saha, author of the book, ‘Informal Markets, Livelihood and Politics - Street Vendors in urban India’ explains.
Mohammed Jaffer in front of his establishment in Jambagh, Nampally / Photograph by Prateek Chauhan
Location and the size of the shop also matter. If you are a big player who operates at a prime location, you are assured that the customers are willing to absorb price hikes. Take the example of another Mohammed Jaffer, owner of Mashallah Fruits Centre in Jambagh. He says that he did not face any issue with the pricing as he increased the price with the increase in transportation costs. From his 40 years of experience in the trade, Jaffer says, “Earlier, the public did not consume so much fruit. Now, no matter how much you increase the price, people buy, and the stock is used up.” Before 1986, Jambagh was where the wholesale fruit market of the city was located. Although the wholesale market has shifted twice since then, the place continues to be a significant retail fruit market.
Back then too, the authorities had shifted to Kothapet on the back of growing city limits and traffic congestion. “Wholesale markets, in general, tend to be located on the outskirts of cities,” Dr Saha remarks.
"Earlier, the public did not consume so much fruit. Now, no matter how much you increase the price, people buy, and the stock is used up."
A visit to the Batasingaram fruit market
The decision of AMC to shift the market to Batasingaram is a temporary one. For over a decade now, the Government of Telangana has been sitting on the project of making a permanent fruit market in Koheda, about 30 kilometres away from the city, where AMC owns 178 acres of land. While the Koheda market is yet to be built, AMC leased HMDAs Logistics Park in Batasingaram for an initial period of 11 months for the market to continue its operation. The justification was that the Covid-19 crisis necessitated a hospital be built. The Telangana High Court upheld that decision on a December 13 judgement last year in the view of the larger public interest where it also directed the authorities to ensure that adequate facilities be made available in the temporary market.
Papaya and watermelon dealers in front of Pocket A of Batasingaram market are provided with no sheds / Photograph by Prateek Chauhan
When Vantage 2022 visited the market on March 24, 2022 to review the ground situation, it found that commission agents were not satisfied with the existing facilities. While they enjoyed a personal shed space back in Kothapet, they are forced to share space under a single shed here in Batasingaram. Pointing towards the open space in front of Pocket A where dealers of watermelon and papaya sit, Vinod (name changed), a Pomegranate commission agent asks, “If it rains tomorrow, what will happen to the stock?” Where he operates in Pocket A is slightly better with at least a shed over his head. That too is inadequate, he says, showing how the water would seep in from the sides during heavy rainfall. Vinod spoke passionately about the state of affairs but later asked for anonymity fearing action from the authorities. When approached, most traders had similar reasons for not speaking to the Vantage 2022. On March 8th, the state government had forcefully evicted the traders from the Kothapet fruit market using lathi-charge to which the court had later expressed its displeasure.
Vantage 2022 also spoke to Narsimha Reddy, Selection Grade Secretary (Full Additional Charge), who presides over the AMC office in Batasingaram. Upon asking him if there are any projects that need to be completed, he responded, “Every work here has been completed except for the mango market. That too is 50% done.”
"When a market is shifted so far away from the city, the demand will decline and the prices will take a dip; ultimately impacting the farmers."
Who benefits?
While some believe that the proximity to the highway is beneficial to farmers and the commission agents, Vinod was quick to point out, “Goods need to be sold, and not just unloaded from the trucks. When a market is shifted so far away from the city, the demand will decline and the prices will take a dip; ultimately impacting the farmers.”
That is yet another feature of how it is a loss to both parties. Because the market is far away, fruit vendors tell Vantage 2022 that they either buy the fruits from the retail market in the city or send a person on their behalf to Batasingaram. At Batasingaram, this means a reduced number of vendors who dictate the prices and then take their cut when selling it to other vendors. While the farmers and commission agents are an organised lot, vendors do not find themselves as stakeholders in the decision making of the AMC. “Trade unions are formed when there is a defined employee-employer relationship. With vendors, that is difficult. So in turn, you will find associations or federations,” Dr Saha points out.
As the story was being developed, news broke out on 29 March that the government had decided to build yet another temporary market in Pahadi Shareef as it is located close to the Rajiv Gandhi airport and is also closer to the city. That too shall serve as a temporary market alongside Batasingaram. It remains to be seen how this impacts the vendors of the city. As for the Koheda Market, AMC submitted to the court in August last year that within a span of one year, the market will be completed.
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