CHENNAI: With many eateries rolling down their shutters due to LPG cylinder shortage, the impact has now reached the Koyambedu vegetable market as nearly 2,000 tonnes of fruits and vegetables remained unsold on Thursday, vendors claimed.
As roadside eateries have decided to cut down on selling fried snacks, over 500 kg of unsold banana peppers (bajji milagai) were dumped at the market.
SS Muthukumaran, president, Koyambedu Semi-Wholesale Vegetable Traders Association, told DT Next, "On Thursday, more than 2,000 tonnes of vegetables, usually bought by small-scale and roadside eateries, remained unsold. If this continues, the prices of essential vegetables may decrease as supply increases. We currently have a large number of sacks of carrots."
"With nearly 500 kg of banana peppers remaining unsold, traders had no choice but to dump them. Mounds of chillies have been discarded at various locations across the market. Traders have faced significant losses; these chillies usually sell for Rs 30 to Rs 35 per kg," said a wholesale vendor.
P Gowtham, a small tiffin centre owner at the Public Works Department campus in Chepauk, said, "Due to the shortage of gas cylinders, we have stopped serving meals and are only selling a few varieties. We are now preparing tea using a new induction stove."
"If the commercial gas cylinder supply is not regularised, traders at the Koyambedu vegetable market will face heavy losses in the coming days," added Muthukumaran.