In some shops, few items left on shelves
nNEW DELHI: The queue in the supermarket’s billing counter took a long serpentine shape as an argument between a lean bespectacled man and middleaged person double his size continued. The first man had three 5kg-bags of wheat and the other had two cans of cooking oil – other than aluminium foils, kitchen tissues, condoms, family packs of biscuits and a carton of instant noodles.
The cause of dispute — each of them wanting to be billed first.
The lean man lost the fight when a staff intervened, informing him about a cap on the procurement of essential items in light of increased sales that came as a surprise in last few days.
Supermarkets, department stores, fruits and vegetable marts, and grocery stores across the city continued witnessing large footfall on Friday with panic-stricken people lining up to procure kitchen staples, and whatever they assumed was necessary, fearing a lockdown.
Images on TV and social media of locked enterprises and empty shelves from countries affected by the virus added to their fear.
On Thursday evening, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing the nation, asked people, not to “hoard” items.
“We trust the Prime Minister. But how is it possible for him to know about kitchen stocks, family size and how much food we consume every month?,” said Jaspal Naagar, a customer at a shop in Pitampura.
The sudden urge to procure groceries cut across demography – in both affluent and relatively lower-income neighbourhoods, from Vasant Kunj to Pandav Nagar to Deoli.
On Friday, HT visited grocery marts across Delhi and met people who were anxious over a possible lockdown.
Most store managers and people in billing counters said they witness such bulk purchases usually in the first week of any month. “In the middle of the month, it is just the fear of a lockdown,” said Devraj Baweja, president of the Sadar Bazar traders’ confederation.
“We have seen a surge in the sales of essential commodities such as rice, flour, vegetables, fruits, dal among others in the wake of Covid-19. In the past one week, we witnessed a growth by 60% in the sale of rice, flour, pulses and other essential commodities,” said Arvind Mediratta, chief executive officer of Metro Cash and Carry – a leading wholesaler chain.
He said, “Additionally, there has been a high demand in both personal hygiene and home hygiene categories. Tissue and hygiene products have seen a growth of 20% and floor disinfectants (surface cleaners) by 28%.”
An official in Mother Dairy said of milk and dairy products have seen around a 15% increase in demand this week.
A senior official of the Future Group, which owns franchises such as Big Bazaar, said: “The ARS is usually flexible. It is decided on the basis of the intersection of demand and supply. But, in the current situation, the problem was that the market did not get ample time to analyse the sudden change in demand. But there is no problem in supply.”