In stark contrast to what Sundays usually are for many people, the small-scale vegetable farmers in Tsirang brace for the most exhaustive day of the week. They take their farm produce to the Sunday vegetable market in Damphu town before dawn. However, without lighting facilities at the market, their commercial activities are not smooth.
When the BBS correspondent went to the vegetable market in the wee hours of last Sunday morning, only flashlights of the cell phone and the torch were spotted.
A mobile screen read 19 minutes past 3 AM and there was an exchange of words between the vendors and the buyers heard. However, they could hardly be recognised in the dark.
The vegetable growers from all 12 gewogs of the district had congregated to sell their crops, mainly chillies to the dealers and vendors from Thimphu, Paro, Gelegphu and other nearby districts. The farmers consider them as their bankable customers since they buy vegetables in bulk.
Vendors, who sell vegetables along the Tsirang-Wangdue highway, are also their preferred customers.
But it is sheer nightmare to do business in the dark. The vegetable market has been without electric lines to light up the space since it was opened a decade ago.
“Sales are better in the early morning but without lighting in the area, it is a problem for us. We would be grateful if the concerned authorities could install lights at the shed,” said one of the vendors at Damphu Sunday Vegetable Market, Jigme Yangzom.
Some other vendors also raised similar concerns.
“It is difficult for us to sell farm produce without light. It is inconvenient for us to hold the torch and weigh vegetables at the same time,” commented another vendor, Pema Lhamo.
The vegetable vendors said they aim to clear most of their fresh stock before sunrise. Otherwise, later in the day, not many customers come to buy the vegetables.
“We bring vegetables before the dawn because some vegetable vendors from Paro, Thimphu and Gelegphu come early in the morning to take vegetables to their respective districts. We can’t sell our vegetables much once they leave the market,” shared the vendor, Pema Gyeltshen Sherpa.
Damphu Thromde Ngotshab, Dema, said the matter will be raised in the upcoming Dzongkhag Tshogdu. Hopefully, the house might instruct the concerned sector to address the issue she added.
Today, the vendors are paying a minimal fee of Nu 10 to 50 as space charges every Sunday. If the interventions from the local authorities come at the earliest, the vegetable vendors could heave a sigh of relief.
Pema Tshewang, Tsirang
Edited by Pema Lhaden
