City to get six more HOPCOMS’ Horti Baazars

Bangalore, September 8, 2017: The Horticultural Producers’ Co-operative Marketing and Processing Society Ltd (HOPCOMS) has been refurbishing their outlets and adding ‘HortiBazaars’ to attract their customers. Four Horti Baazars are already functional and six more are yet to be ready within a year.

The Horti Baazars are operational in Kasturi Nagar, Sadashivnagar, Lalbagh and Electronic city. The Baazars are computerized markets that sell fresh fruits and vegetables directly produced by the farmers.

Mr Dayanand, General Manager of Development told The Softcopy that it cost HOPCOMS about Rs. six lakhs to build each Baazar. He said that the cooperative has requested a budget of Rs 3 Crores from the Horticultural Department. They are yet to receive the amount.

The Horti Baazars will be set up in private buildings around the city. The owners of the building will receive five per cent commission from sales.

Mr G.B. Bommegowda, a salesperson, who has been working for HOPCOMS for 29 years said that customers have begun coming on a regular basis since the Baazar opened. The price of vegetables and fruits are fixed in the morning and remain untouched throughout the day. Out of the fixed price, the farmers receive around 50p to Re 1 per commodity.

Rajni, a resident of Sadhashivnagar spoke about how she prefers coming to the Horti Baazar because the price of fruits and vegetables are cheaper compared to other supermarket outlets.

HOPCOMS has also begun renovating their pre-existing shops and out of 300 outlets, 80 have been renovated. Dr Vishwanath, Managing Director of HOPCOMS said that the funds they have received are not adequate. He said “We received Rs 40-50 Lakhs from the government for the renovation process. We actually expected Rs 4 crores.”

Anirban Choudhury, urban planner, said that HOPCOMS should have focused on expanding their online shopping portal instead of building Bazaars around the city. He added that HOPCOMS should have branded their products. Mr Choudhury said that HOPCOMS must focus on serving the community and smaller localities must not comprise larger shops.