Provisions fly off shelves as people jostle in panic buying
Residents fear crackdown on movement of people or total shutdown
Many supermarkets in the city witnessed a scramble for available stocks on Saturday with people lining up in large numbers right from morning and purchasing essential commodities in the wake of fears of a crackdown on movement of people or a total shut down of the city as coronavirus impact makes itself felt more and more in the city and the State. This rush for buying, incidentally, gave birth to a new word (noun to be more precise) to the urban dictionary ‘COVidiot’. This is to imply a stupid person who hoards groceries, needlessly spreading Covid-19, fear and depriving others of their basic supplies.
The Divisional Manager of Big Bazaar at Kachiguda, B. Abishek told Deccan Chronicle that the past one week has seen more and more purchasers crowding the food and grocery aisles. “Many people are buying rice, pulses and processed food items, which is unprecedented. House-care items such as mops, scrubbers, disinfectants, liquid soaps are also in high demand. Consequently, sales in other sections of the store have nosedived,” he said.
Madhavi, a salesperson at More Supermarket in
THE PAST one week has seen more and more purchasers crowding the food and grocery aisles, a Big Bazaar official said.
Himayatnagar, said food counters in the store were quickly getting emptied and the staff has to restock them more often than any time in the past.
Such scenes were replicated in super markets across upscale areas like Banjara Hills.
Prof Michael Preethan, English HOD at St Mary’s College, said that at two major supermarkets he had been to on Friday, the shelves of the food items and the basic daily use of pulses and grains were empty. “People are stocking up their carts, with more stuff than what they can possibly use. And the shocking part is they are crowded together, without maintaining proper distance, throwing asunder all safety precautions because no one is maintaining the minimum recommended distance with the other person,” he said.
Danish Dar, an engineer by profession, said in Sun City and Hyderashakot, most of the supermarkets are full of people. The food shelf in most outlets were nearly empty. It was ditto in Attapur and Rajendranagar.