Sitting in her shop at the entrance to Ïewduh on Thursday, Susanna Marbaniang was seen segregating perished vegetables from saleable ones.
From Saturday noon till 6am on Thursday, Susanna could not venture into Ïewduh as curfew was promulgated following the death of a vendor who had been stabbed. This was the first time since Saturday that the East Khasi Hills district administration had relaxed curfew (6am till 1pm) in Meghalaya’s largest market.
The usual congestion was missing and the unseasonal rain did not help brighten the sombre atmosphere but the curfew relaxation allowed vendors to go to their shops and take out whatever was saleable after five days.
“After I opened the godown this morning, I had to throw away a huge chunk of vegetables that had perished. There was nothing I could do in the last few days because of the curfew. Many like me have been affected,” Susanna told The Telegraph. “We faced problems, but we are small traders. Decisions are made by those in power,” she added.
She said most of the vegetables come from nearby villages, which implies that farmers also have been at the receiving end of the shutdown.
During the last few days, the points at Umshyrphi and near old Anjalee cinema hall, besides Mawlai, became trade hubs as sellers and buyers converged there because of the curfew in Ïewduh.
Gosswell Myrthong, who sells betel nuts and leaves, said the betel leaves were beginning to perish. “Now, I have to sell them at a throwaway price. This shutdown has hurt vendors like us dealing with perishable items,” he said.
On whether the curfew should be lifted, he said, “Maybe it is still not feasible to lift the curfew but I would like to suggest to the administration to relax the curfew from at least 8am till 4pm. Who, anyway, comes to the market at 6am?”
A section of buyers expressed relief that Ïewduh had reopened, even if for a few hours. “All these days we had to purchase from Polo area or other places but the rates at which they sell there and at Ïewduh are different,” one buyer said, implying that the rates at Ïewduh were more reasonable.
Another buyer expressed concern for the vendors and farmers. “We could manage somehow by purchasing eatables from the shops in our locality but my heart goes out to the vendors at Ïewduh, especially those selling perishable items. Even the farmers had a difficult time,” she said.
The sense one gathered from Ïewduh was that the curfew hours should be further relaxed to allow farmers, vendors and buyers more time for trading.
During the last two years, Ïewduh has been shut multiple times due to curfew and the loss incurred by farmers and vendors has been phenomenal.
As the clock ticked towards 1pm, vendors and buyers steadily started disappearing from the commercial hub, perhaps with the hope that tomorrow would be a better day.