Nice piece of salad

1000's of trucks, 100’s of stray cattle, variety of colors and smell, stagnant water, innumerable insects and a chance to see ,observe and study human behavior and existence. These are some of the several things I recall of my latest visit to Azadpur Mandi.


The sheer size of this mandi which is the biggest fruit and vegetable mandi in the Asia has its 2 entry points separated by a Km and the internal market runs into infinity distance.
People are care-free and ignorant about their daily surroundings which might give shivers to any normal Delhi residential being. Mum used to say that wash your veggies before you eat; well I say use a detergent or even a stronger solution lest you want some cow dung bacteria or human excreta remains on your food Palette.


Some of the many interesting facets which I saw and which I would love to share:

1.There were hordes of people who were stepping on vegetables especially green leafy and there were countless others who were buying the same
2. Many vendors buy the waste,i.e unsold stuff from big vendors which is later sold to some of you in your respective colonies
3. The entire market is unorganized and works on word of mouth.
4. 1000-2000 trucks enter Azadpur everyday
5. It is perennially open 24*7*365 days
I was curious to find out as to the origin of the name of the market "Azadpur".An interesting factoid which was told to me was that during the struggle for independence this part of the Delhi was able to support mutinies as it was still a big vegetable marketplace and thereby the name 'Azadpur'.

But my visit to this place of sustenance for many left me with a bad taste. The apathy shown by people trading here as well as APMC (Agricultural Produce marketing committee) is shocking. There are no civic amenities provided here be it water, sanitation and proper sewage .The place is a mess and seems to be getting crushed into oblivion with time. Light rains make roads clogged and un approachable; forget the stench which emanates from rotting vegetables. It’s a disappointing that this vegetable basket, the largest in Asia and a blood line for many states is in a dismal state with its name clearly representing something which is a matter of past......I