HYDERABAD: Supermarkets in the city have been witnessing heavy rush since the past three days as people began binge-shopping soon after the government declared holidays for educational institutes and others.
“The demand for non-perishable edibles like rice, pulses, lentils, flour, and cooking oil has gone up in the past three days,” said Ravi, a counter manager at Ratnadeep at Mehdipatnam.
“I did not expect the pandemic to be this severe, at least in our State. But ever since the government declared public holidays, I decided to isolate myself at home,” said Himanshu, a father who was buying groceries for two months to stock up in advance for quarantine.
“The demand is akin to what is witnessed during festive seasons. But people are being choosy about purchasing groceries. Strangely, the demand for processed food items has reduced,” said another supermarket cashier, Vidisha.“Dal, rice and atta, which were stacked up for the whole month, is already exhausted. Also, there is a delay in the supply from the wholesale market at Begum Bazaar,” said Sanjay Verma, a wholesale merchant.