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PRAYAGRAJ: Stranded in the Dharavi slums of Mumbai due to confinement, a Prayagraj native found a unique way to overcome travel restrictions and get to his hometown: bringing a truckload of onion. He obtained permission to travel since onion is an essential product and its shipment is not prohibited.
Prem Murti Pandey, 56, works at Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport and has been stranded in the city since the closure was announced following the new coronavirus pandemic on March 23. Pandey lives in Dharavi, touted as Asia’s largest slum, and now a coronavirus hot spot.
“When I noticed that Covid-19 cases were increasing at an alarming rate in Dharavi, I found it difficult to stay there any longer. Therefore, I decided to return to my hometown in Prayagraj, ”said Pandey.
“I would not have been able to return due to travel restrictions. However, I realized that I would be allowed to enter the city if I were a vegetable or fruit merchant,” he added.
The Union government has not imposed restrictions on the transport of fruits and vegetables as they are included in the commodity category.
On April 16, Pandey went to Pimpalgaon in Nashik and bought watermelons worth Rs 10,000. He came back and sold them in Mumbai the next day just to test the waters. Putting his plan into action, he then bought 25.2 tons of onion worth Rs 2.3 lakh from Nashik and hired a truck for Rs 77,500 the next day. He drove to Prayagraj with an onion truck the same day.
“I thought I would sell it in Prayagraj and recoup my investment of approximately 3 lakh,” he says.
Pandey arrived in Prayagraj on Thursday night and went directly to Mundera Mandi to sell the onions. However, when he failed to reach an agreement for the shipment, he returned to his home in the Kotwa Mubarakpur area of the city. Pandey said he planned to sell it to smaller merchants.
The deputy inspector and in charge of the TP Nagar police post, Arvind Singh, said: “When the police received information that a man had arrived from Mumbai, a team from the health department went to his home and performed a thermal exam on Thursday. They asked him to quarantine his home and his swab sample was collected on Saturday. He was later transferred to a quarantine center in Kareli on Saturday. ”
Pandey does not apologize and says he did nothing wrong. “My entire family, including elderly parents, are here, while I work in Mumbai. I have responsibilities to my family and I think I chose a perfectly legal way to return. ”
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Prem Murti Pandey, 56, works at Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport and has been stranded in the city since the closure was announced following the new coronavirus pandemic on March 23. Pandey lives in Dharavi, touted as Asia’s largest slum, and now a coronavirus hot spot.
“When I noticed that Covid-19 cases were increasing at an alarming rate in Dharavi, I found it difficult to stay there any longer. Therefore, I decided to return to my hometown in Prayagraj, ”said Pandey.
“I would not have been able to return due to travel restrictions. However, I realized that I would be allowed to enter the city if I were a vegetable or fruit merchant,” he added.
The Union government has not imposed restrictions on the transport of fruits and vegetables as they are included in the commodity category.
On April 16, Pandey went to Pimpalgaon in Nashik and bought watermelons worth Rs 10,000. He came back and sold them in Mumbai the next day just to test the waters. Putting his plan into action, he then bought 25.2 tons of onion worth Rs 2.3 lakh from Nashik and hired a truck for Rs 77,500 the next day. He drove to Prayagraj with an onion truck the same day.
“I thought I would sell it in Prayagraj and recoup my investment of approximately 3 lakh,” he says.
Pandey arrived in Prayagraj on Thursday night and went directly to Mundera Mandi to sell the onions. However, when he failed to reach an agreement for the shipment, he returned to his home in the Kotwa Mubarakpur area of the city. Pandey said he planned to sell it to smaller merchants.
The deputy inspector and in charge of the TP Nagar police post, Arvind Singh, said: “When the police received information that a man had arrived from Mumbai, a team from the health department went to his home and performed a thermal exam on Thursday. They asked him to quarantine his home and his swab sample was collected on Saturday. He was later transferred to a quarantine center in Kareli on Saturday. ”
Pandey does not apologize and says he did nothing wrong. “My entire family, including elderly parents, are here, while I work in Mumbai. I have responsibilities to my family and I think I chose a perfectly legal way to return. ”
