Weekly shandies still a big draw in semi-urban and rural areas in united Visakhapatnam district

Shandies in semi-urban/rural areas remain popular, selling a range of items from safety pins to textiles, pulses, fish, livestock, etc.

At a time when grocery stores are hit hard by mall culture, which has pervaded cities, shandies continue to draw buyers in large numbers in the semi-urban and rural areas. These shandies are not only business centres but also foster a lasting bonding between the buyers and sellers.

Contrary to popular belief, it is not just vegetables that one can get at these shandies, one can get almost everything ranging from safety pins to textiles, fancy products, ropes, pulses, fish and livestock.

A glance at the vegetable stalls on either side of the road leading to the Atchutapuram shandy gives a newcomer the impression that a few vegetable vendors are doing business beside the road. Located on the Pudimadaka Main Road, at a stone’s throw from the busy Atchutapuram Circle, the scores of stalls, selling a wide range of articles of everyday use, apart from vegetables, are seen attracting a steady stream of visitors.

On walking a little inside, one will realise that the shandy is no small business. While the vegetable stalls seem to be doing the maximum business, traders dealing with pulses and livestock are doing no less.

The total business through the sale of vegetables, spices and textiles at the Atchutapuram shandy, which is held on Fridays, will be of the order of ₹15 lakh, according to conservative estimates.

No less than 100 lambs and 50 buffaloes are sold at the livestock market, located at the fag-end of the shandy. This would mean an additional business of around ₹20 lakh at the shandy.

Bera Sambamurthy (65) was seen folding pieces of newspaper to pack different varieties of pulses in small quantities for a customer. He agreed to talk to this scribe, even as he continued with packing and attending to the needs of his customers.