Hyderabad: Mana Kuragayalu pale beside pvt players

Hyderabad: A good concept with bad implementation is leading 'Mana Kuryagayalu' exercise to a dead end.

Started with much fanfare in 2014, the vegetables outlets are now heading towards closure. As many 62 outlets were established in the city, of which only 18 remain.

"Mana Kuragayalu was an extension of Rythu Bazaar concept with an objective to link distant farmers to the market so that they can sell their fresh produce directly and benefit from the shortened supply chain as well as provide the fresh produce to the people here in cities through the Mana Kuragayalu outlets. Beginning with two outlets as a project basis, it was launched in 2014 and expanded to 62 outlets now. But, due to various issues, we are running only 18 outlets at present," says Rajitha, Monitoring Officer, Manakuragayalu Project, GHMC.

The reasons vary from lack of fresh vegetables to improper maintenance of outlets. Footfalls started dropping as people were not finding vegetables of their choice.

Established with an aim to provide a variety of vegetables, the outlets fell way short of the promise. Sarojini S, a doctor and resident of Kukatpally, said, "There is no guarantee to get a good quantity and the variety too always falls short of my need. These outlets did begin with a lot of promise but as all government-initiated projects, the authorities could not sustain."

Thanks to the apathy, one after another, outlets started shutting down due to lack of patronage.

Raghav S, a retired postal department employee, said, "The weekly bazaars and the supermarkets stock more varieties than these outlets. People lost confidence in them. I, too, have been a victim of hope. Every time I visited the outlet, I returned disappointed. If there is a certain variety, the quantity is not enough, and if there is enough, it falls way short in quality."

"I purchase a few vegetables here at Mana Kuragayalu outlet and at the supermarkets, we don't find variety. But the price is low," admitted Kamalini, a student.

"Cauliflower costs Rs 29 per kg, chillies Rs 35 per kg, tomatoes Rs 20 per kg. No other outlets are selling vegetables at these prices across the city," says an outlet manager in Kukatpally.

Is it too late?

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) is planning to revive the outlets and is planning to establish eight more outlets by increasing the variety of vegetables. Rajitha said, "There is a demand for bread, milk and other items which we are considering to include in the new outlets."

Several private players are entering the space, apart from big players such as Reliance, Birla and others. "Consumers are ready to pay, provided they get quality. The government outlets have fallen way short of peoples' expectations," said Yashwant K, a research scholar. 

Started in 2014, Mana Kuragayulu outlets are falling out of public favour. From 62 outlets, the number has dropped to a mere 18. Government seems to be at a loss to spur footfalls at these much-touted shops which are losing out to private players, Vasavi Kaleru finds out.

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) is said to be planning to revive the outlets and establish eight more outlets by increasing the variety of vegetables and addressing other issues.

The reasons vary from lack of fresh vegetables to improper maintenance of outlets. Footfalls started dropping as people were not finding vegetables of their choice. Of course, they are cheap at the price, the consumers say.

Distributed Network

Vegetables and fruits are purchased directly from the farmers of different villages, mostly from the Ranga Reddy, Medak and Mahbubnagar districts at 26 procurement centres established in their mandals, after which they would be sent to centralised distribution centre at the Bowenpally distribution market. They they will be sorted, graded, packed and stored in the cold storage if required. Later these vegetables and fruits would be sent to Mana Kuragayalu outlets located at various places in the city.