As many as 1,600 wholesale fruit and vegetable mandis have started functioning smoothly and 300 more will operate from Friday after the central government on Thursday stepped in to normalise the supply during the lockdown.
The Union agriculture ministry is in constant touch with state governments in charge of agriculture marketing and APMC (Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee) or wholesale mandi boards to take proactive measures to ensure supply of essential vegetables and fruits is not hit during the lockdown period.
"There were initial resistance but we have persuaded with state government and APMC board to keep mandis open. As a result, 1,600 fruits and vegetable mandis have started functioning smoothly today and 300 more will open tomorrow (Friday)," a senior Agriculture Ministry official told PTI.
