Corporate retailing of fruits and vegetables - once a domain of street side vendors - seems to be facing more troubles.
After Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh, vegetable and fruit vendors of Ahmedabad are up in the arms against corporate retail chains like Reliance Fresh and Subhiksha as well as shopping mall chains.
Hundreds of vegetable vendors in Ahmedabad under the aegis of RBS or Roji Bachav Samiti (Livelihood Protection Committee) on Monday launched protests against the sale of vegetables and fruits by corporate companies. Vendors also held a huge public meeting in Ahmedabad to chalk out future course of action.
Unlike Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh, vegetable vendors in the city have decided to resort to peaceful protests, said, Ashok Punjabi, President of RBS. Punjabi contended that in countries like Japan, France and Taiwan, corporate companies are not allowed to deal in retailing of fruits and vegetable.
Similarly, retails chains like Reliance Retail and Subhiksha should also not be allowed to do so as it harms the livelihood of thousands of traditional vegetable and fruit vendors.
Many vendors in the city have lost their means of livelihood due to advent of organized giants in vegetable and fruit retailing, he cited this as the reason for a large number of vendors from across the city turned up to join the protest.
Vendors have also chalked out a comprehensive protest strategy in the public meeting held in Ahmedabad. Vendors will burn the effigies symbolizing corporate companies at 51 locations in the city on May 30, 2007. "Apart from this, vendors will also take out processions to various malls in the city during the first week of June," informed Punjabi.
"We are not opposed to corporate retailing," said, Ratnaji Aslaji, another leader representing the vegetable vendors, adding, "Corporate giants like Reliance Fresh and Subhiksha should spare sale of fruits and vegetables as it harms the interest of small time vendors."
Meanwhile, as a precautionary measure, police personnel were deployed at 10 Reliance Fresh stores in the city. When contacted, Reliance official said that police protection was just a precautionary measure and they also expressed hope than violent event would not occur in Ahmedabad.
The official also opined that number of vegetable vendors in the city is huge, as against which number vegetable and fruit retail stores are very less. Considering the turnover and other facts, livelihood of the vendors would not be endangered in any way.