The Coronavirus pandemic has affected local vendors selling Tengma (flattened maize) at Gangola in Monggar. The sales have been reduced by over 50 percent. Tengma is the main source of income for most of the farmers in Monggar Dzongkhag.
Kezang Paldon from Wangmakhar village, Chhaling Gewog is one of the vendors who sells Tengma at Gangola vegetable shed. She wakes up as early as five in the morning and walks for over an hour to sell her product at Gangola, which is located in Monggar and Lhuentse highway junction.
She said the coronavirus virus pandemic has hit her hard. “ Earlier we used finish selling almost 20 packets of flattened maize in a day but these days we are able to sell only five to six packets. ”
Karma Yuden another vendor from Wangmakhar said many commuters used to come and buy their maize product. “But nowadays we don’t get much income out of it. Earlier when we used to bring fifty to sixty packets, we could finish selling it all. Now we can sell only ten to twenty packets. Sometimes we cannot sell any.”
For vendors in Gangola, passengers travelling in public buses and light vehicles are their main costumers. The vendors said the reduced movement of people due to the COVID-19 situation is the main reason for their poor sales.
The poor sales have also reduced the number of vendors at the popular maize product stop in Monggar. From ten to fifteen vendors the number has dropped to just a few of them.
However, with the lifting of restrictions on passenger numbers in public transportation and taxis, vendors are hoping to see an improvement in sales.
The vendors charge Nu 250 to Nu 300 for a packet of Tengma during peak season and Nu 100 per packet during the off-season.
Sonam Tshering
