Not many takers for Ramakrishnapuram Rythu Bazaar

Ramakrishnapuram: Are Rythu Bazaars losing their sheen? Going by the lukewarm response, one may well say so. The Rythu Bazaar at Ramakrishnapuram is a case in point. During 2004-05, it was a busy market with scores of vendors and hundreds of people from nearby areas would flock to it, but not anymore.

When the reporter visited the market recently, there were a handful of vendors and the market looked almost empty. "The bazaar used to attract a lot of people before the flyover was built in 2004, later it became difficult for people to come to the bazaar," says Vijay Krishna, in-charge supervisor of the market.

Another reason for the decline in popularity is the weekly markets that have come up in every locality. Uma, a resident of Neredmet says, "I used to go to the Rythu Bazaar but for the last three years I buy my weekly supply from the weekly market. I just have to walk a few yards."

With RK Puram railway station situated just before the bazaar, it is easy for us to commute," a vendor said. "We are about 10 to 15 farmers who come here regularly and the bulk of our sales are in the morning when petty shop owners and hoteliers come to purchase the fresh stock in bulk which makes us profitable.

Prices at Rythu Bazaars are fixed by the authorities based on the wholesale prices in the Agriculture Market. Despite uniform price charts, farmers communicate with their counterparts in other places and follow the highest prices prevailing in other nearby markets. It is also losing out to the competition from daily markets that started operating in every neighbouring colony in this area, said Somesh, a vendor.

"Parking space is sufficient and hygienic conditions of the market are also good when compared to other markets," says a customer, Abhishek Rajpal.

By KIRAN KUMAR