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Bread and pastry vendors missing from usual rounds
View(s):Most people had not been able to buy bakery products despite efforts to operate mobile vendors better known as “Chuun pan Karayas’’ to distribute items including bread and pastries.
Particularly, in Colombo and suburbs, people who depend on mobile vendors even on normal days could not be served due to some issues, including police preventing their operation at times, All Ceylon Bakery Owners Association president Jayawardene told the Sunday Times.
However, Mr. Jayawardene said measures have been taken to distribute bakery products to homes in some areas within the stipulated time using mobile services.
He said police had told them that some vendors had misused the permission to sell bread and bakery products.
For vendors, handling soiled money could pose health risks, he said.
“Even though the sellers are following health precautions, if one person in a crowd is infected, then the virus will spread,’’ he said.
“Another issue is that not all bakeries are operating. Some don’t have enough ingredients to continue baking. For instance, if they don’t have yeast, there is no place to buy.’’
Some bakers don’t have enough resources to deal with a potentially large-scale outbreak and don’t have enough workers.
Krishani Dhanushka, 30, a resident of Mount Lavinia, said, some of the bakeries opened the day the curfew was lifted, but there were crowds.
“That’s how it was everywhere from Mt Lavinia to Fort and back. As there were no bread-tuks, we had to queue up for hours to buy a loaf. So I keep my bread sliced in the freezer because it lasts longer.”
Sachira De Silva, 32, a resident of Kalutara, said, “The government announced that bread will be sold from trucks, but nothing turned up. There was no sandwich bread on the day the curfew was lifted. Supermarket shelves were empty.”
Dilini Perera, 33, a resident of Pannipitiya said people who are stuck at home are not looking for a gastronomic experience, just some bread, as they are fed up with eating the same food for a longer period. “I have a child, who keeps me busy, so I can’t make pastries at home. My mother is suffering from diabetes so she only eats brown bread, but it’s not available in the bakery.”
Samadara Jayasekara, 39, a resident of Panadura, said the youngest child, who is 10, keeps asking for fish buns, rolls, and pastries.
Wimal Rupasinghe, owner of Susiko Bakers Kohuwala, said he owns 25 bakeries in the Colombo district. “We don’t have enough staff to distribute the food. We have to make all the food for all the bakeries. Most of the staff have gone back to their homes because of the curfew,’’ he said.
“The day the curfew was lifted in the Colombo district we were able to prepare enough food for the customers and they rushed to the bakery shops to buy bread.”
“We don’t have bread trucks to deliver. With the coronavirus pandemic our business broke down.”
Public Health Inspector Manjula Mudalige said the mobile bread trucks are being monitored.
“Drivers have to follow the health guidelines provided by the government. They must wear a face mask and gloves. They must not serve food with bare hands.”