Man buys 25,000 Kg onions, escapes Covid lockdown claiming to be vegetable seller to go home (The man in question has not been pictured above)
It is widely believed that Jugaad (improvisation) is something Indians are expert at. This comes in handy in many situations and creates major problems in others. What happened, in this case, is worth hearing irrespective of the fact that the man broke lockdown rules amid deadly coronavirus pandemic.
The man identified as Prem Murti Pandey, This man escaped coronavirus lockdown and managed to reach his home in Uttar Pradesh claiming to be a vegetable vendor. What makes this interesting that he managed to travel more than 1000 km at a time when the entire country is in lockdown.
That's right!
He started from Mumbai and reached his home in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh.
"I spent 21 days in Mumbai during the lockdown. But as there were no signs of the lockdown ending soon, I found a way to reach home," Pandey was quoted as saying by the PTI.
Pandey walked from Mumbai to Pimpalgaon in Maharashtra. He then bought 1300 kg watermelons and transported them to Mumbai. He had already struck a deal with a fruit vendor in Mumbai so the return on his investment was guaranteed. The onion trade in Pimpalgaon caught Pandey's eye. He carefully observed the trade and quickly thought of his plan to escape the lockdown.
He spent more than ₹ 2 lakh to buy 25,520 kg onions in Pimpalgaon. After loading the onions on a truck, Pandey set off for Prayagraj.
The truck managed to escape the checkpoints en-route as vegetables come under essential goods.
Pandey reached Prayagraj on April 23. He then headed straight to the market to sell onions. However, as the local markets were flooded with onions, he couldn't get a good price for his stock. Prem Murti Pandey is now waiting for local markets to run out of onions so that he can sell his stock. He is optimistic to get a good return.
Though Pandey's tale is interesting and amusing, what he did was against the current lockdown rules in place. Coronavirus lockdown is in place in the country and the government has asked everyone to stay where they are. Pandey has informed the authorities about his travel and is undergoing isolation. A medical team has examined him.
(With PTI inputs)
