Social distancing move in Vadodara ignored

VADODARA: Vadodara civic body’s aim to create social distancing backfired with a bang on Thursday when the Polo Ground witnessed a massive rush of citizens jostling one another to get fresh veggies at Khanderao market prices.
The historic Khanderao Market – city’s largest vegetable market – located in Vadodara Municipal Corporation’s backyard - has traditionally been Barodians’ favourite place for farm-fresh greens at affordable prices.But looking at the lockdown, VMC decided to shift the vendors here to the Polo Ground on Thursday as Khanderao market is too congested.
But the decision proved costly as it defeated the entire purpose of lockdown with hundreds swarming at the sprawling ground near Kirti Stambh to buy veggies after word spread like wildfire across the city.
After vendors reached the Khanderao market premises at about 4.30am on Thursday, they were asked to shift their stalls to Polo Ground. “We were baffled as the authorities didn’t inform us in advance of the plan. A few policemen told us that we need to shift to the Polo Ground and so we did accordingly. But what ensued was total chaos,” said Jitu Kachhiya, who has been selling veggies in Khanderao for the past 45 years. Kachhiya questioned the justification of bunching all the vendors together at one place. “When the government is advising social distancing,I don’t understand why all of us had to be shifted to a single spot. What was seen at Polo Ground was exactly opposite of what we are being told to do,” Kachhiya alleged.
Another vegetable vendor, Priyank Kachhiya alleged that while Khanderao has a good parking space and many gates to enter, Polo Ground had only a single gate leading to overcrowding at one spot. \
Many vegetable vendors also claimed that the cops were intercepting them at different points in the city and questioning them.