Though there are symptoms for gruelling summer in southern districts this year, the lusciously succulent watermelons have hit the markets in large numbers here as one of the ways to keep cool in the summer.
For customers, the sweet information for tasting the juicy flesh of sweet melon is that there is no change of price of melon when compared to the last year. Heaps of watermelons have been seen in different parts of important roads of Ramanathapuram.
The roadside hawkers, who often change the business depending upon seasonal fruits and vegetables, keep themselves busy in cutting, slicing and selling the colourful fruit. A few of them work overtime to get melons from the suppliers, besides selling them to the customers during daytime. Different sizes of melons weighing from 3 to 15 kg are available in the market, particularly roadsides.
“The sun is shining bright than last summer, during which the town and peripherals received good summer shower. I hope we will have a good business this season,” says C. Murugan, a wholesale and retail melon merchant in Ramanathapuram.
According to a rough estimate, around 400 to 500 kg of watermelon arrives daily to the town alone. While some traders get melons from the Madurai market, some have contact with the traders in Poovanthi near Madurai, who buy melons from the farmers in the nearby localities in Madurai and Sivaganga districts.
The average retail price for a kg of melon is Rs.10. A piece of melon is being sold at Rs.5. Some traders, particularly fresh juice stalls, offer a glass of melon drink at a cost of Rs.15. By C. Jaishankar, The Hindu
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