Vegetable, flower traders suffer losses amid heavy rain in Karnataka

Bengaluru: Persistent rain has made the lives of vegetable and flower traders from bad to worse in Chikkaballapur district and Bengaluru’s KR Market. The downpour has significantly damaged the flowers, fruits, and leafy green veggies, creating hardship for traders. They lost their products amid rain. Several traders are demanding from local authorities to provide storage facilities to prevent further loss.

“Almost 50% of my flowers rotted in the past two days,” lamented Suresh Gowda, a flower trader from Chikkaballapur. “We cannot store them for long, and the rain completely ruined our sales. I lost nearly Rs 25,000 this week alone,” he said. Vegetable vendors are facing a similar plight. “Tomatoes, green beans, and leafy greens became unsellable due to water damage,” said Lakshmi Devi, a vegetable vendor from Chikkaballapur. The demand for fruits and vegetables has dropped as people are avoiding stepping out in this weather.”

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In Bengaluru’s KR Market, traders echoed the concerns. “Oranges, bananas, and leafy vegetables are all damaged because of the persistent rain,” said Ramesh, a fruit seller in KR Market. “We’re trying to salvage whatever we can, but the losses are mounting. It’s difficult to sustain like this.”

The wholesale operation is badly affected due to rain. Supplies of fruits and vegetables are not adequate owing to the increasing transportation costs.