Small shops reopen as city limps back to normalcy by evening

However, most of the major shopping centres, malls and restuarants remained shut through the day. Transportation facilities too limped back to normalcy gradually as several auto rickshaws returned to the roads and more private cab services were also made available for the public.

“We preferred to stay away from the roads all day as we feared violence. As the city has been free of violence all day, we decided to get back to work,” said Kannan S, an Ola cab driver near the Egmore Railway station.

Meanwhile, prices of essential commodities skyrocketed, as local markets ran out of vegetables and perishables such as bread and milk flew off the shelves, as people rushed to stock up for the next few days. On December 4, the price of tomatoes, which was Rs 10 per kilo, touched Rs 100 on Monday evening. 

The announcement of Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa suffering a cardiac arrest saw people flocking to the markets and stores to stock up on essential commodities. Thus, many local markets saw the prices of vegetables shooting up. Annette Hendricks, a resident of Perambur, said the prices had nearly doubled, as vendors ran out of tomatoes and onions. 

“Around 5.30 pm on Monday, vegetables that were sold normally for Rs 20 for 500 grams a day ago, were now sold for Rs 50. There were no tomatoes at all in any of the markets and vendors had to go to Villivakkam to procure more stock. In addition to this, bakeries too ran out of bread and buns,” said the employee of a private firm in the city. 

The vegetable market at Arumbakkam was filled with people, trying to stock up, even as vendors ran out of vegetables. Jyotheeswaran, a 57-year-old government official, rued that the shortage has led to a price hike. “Everything has doubled in price,” he added. Abdul Sattar, a 60-year-old vendor, had cleared out his entire stock by 5.30 pm. “The prices have nearly doubled. Peas is being sold for Rs 60 per kg. I sold around 50 boxes of tomatoes today, which is more than the usual,” he said. Another vendor, Mubarrak Ali, had to procure extra supply of tomatoes to meet the demand. 

“There was an unprecedented number of people coming to buy and the supply was not enough. We had to get more from the Koyambedu market, and by evening, the prices went from Rs 10 to Rs 50. All our stock was sold out,” said the 41-year-old vendor. 

V R Soundarajan, honorary president, Koyambedu Vegetable Market Association, said, “The prices might have gone up at other markets but it was stable in the Koyambedu market. With concerns for the next few days, we will ensure a steady supply of the essential commodities.”