Vendors with traditional matoli items make brisk business
A shopper purchasing items from a matoli vendor in Mapusa market on Sunday.
Photo Credits: Agnelo Pereira
MAPUSA
With just a day left for the start of the Ganesh festival, one of the biggest festivals in the State, the Mapusa municipal market was swamped with people on Sunday.
Unlike normal Sundays which witness a sparse crowd, it was different this time with shoppers making a beeline to the bustling market.
Vendors with the traditional matoli items made brisk business as people from the town and surrounding villages rushed in to make last minute purchases.
Apart from the matoli bazaar, stalls with decorative articles and firecrackers were also lined up in designated areas making it one stop shopping for people visiting the municipal market.
While a large number of buyers were seen making purchases in the market, one couldn’t but notice a marked fall in the number of shoppers compared to the yesteryears.
“Nowadays people do not need to come to Mapusa, as mini markets have emerged at several places in the villages and key spots at the outskirts of the town. Covid pandemic taught people to make business in their own yard. Secondly, people prefer door service saving them time and money,” observed Vishnu Naik, a motorcycle pilot who has been operating from the market stand for the last several years.
Several vendors also attributed the low turnout due to the inflationary trend.
“The prices of almost all items of the matoli bazaar have gone up by 15 to 20 percent. But we expect people to come to the market on Monday, the last day preceding the festival,” said Avaan Kandolkar, a vendor from Tuem, Pernem.
The municipal market appeared better organized this year as the Mapusa Municipal Council has managed to put a system in place to bring about discipline in an otherwise chaotic municipal market.
The vendors dealing with matoli items were allotted fixed space in the market which was already demarcated earlier.
“We have accommodated 400 plus vendors selling matoli items in the market. A lot of people including the municipal staff have put an effort to organise a well planned market,” said Ashirwad Khorjuvenkar, Chairman of Mapusa market committee.
