market

JM Money Market Fund - Daily Dividend

Category Debt Scheme - Money Market Fund
NAV 10.0418
Repurchase Price
Sale Price
Date 08-May-2020




market

JM Money Market Fund - Bonus Option - Principal Units

Category Debt Scheme - Money Market Fund
NAV 15.5828
Repurchase Price
Sale Price
Date 08-May-2020




market

JM Money Market Fund (Direct)- Daily Dividend Option

Category Debt Scheme - Money Market Fund
NAV 10.0508
Repurchase Price
Sale Price
Date 08-May-2020




market

JM Money Market Fund (Direct) Bonus Option - Principal Units

Category Debt Scheme - Money Market Fund
NAV 15.7736
Repurchase Price
Sale Price
Date 08-May-2020




market

JM Money Market Fund (Direct) - Weekly Dividend

Category Debt Scheme - Money Market Fund
NAV 10.6768
Repurchase Price
Sale Price
Date 08-May-2020




market

JM Money Market Fund (Direct) - Growth

Category Debt Scheme - Money Market Fund
NAV 28.4137
Repurchase Price
Sale Price
Date 08-May-2020




market

JM Money Market Fund (Direct) - Fortnightly Dividend Option

Category Debt Scheme - Money Market Fund
NAV 10.3322
Repurchase Price
Sale Price
Date 08-May-2020




market

Quant Money Market Fund-Growth Option-Direct Plan

Category Debt Scheme - Money Market Fund
NAV 31.5578
Repurchase Price
Sale Price
Date 08-May-2020




market

Quant Money Market Fund-Growth Option

Category Debt Scheme - Money Market Fund
NAV 31.2812
Repurchase Price
Sale Price
Date 08-May-2020




market

Quant Money Market Fund-Dividend Option-Direct Plan

Category Debt Scheme - Money Market Fund
NAV 16.8756
Repurchase Price
Sale Price
Date 08-May-2020




market

Quant Money Market Fund-Dividend Option

Category Debt Scheme - Money Market Fund
NAV 16.8573
Repurchase Price
Sale Price
Date 08-May-2020




market

ICICI Prudential Money Market Fund Option -Fortnightly Dividend

Category Debt Scheme - Money Market Fund
NAV 100.6686
Repurchase Price
Sale Price
Date 08-May-2020




market

ICICI Prudential Money Market Fund Option - Weekly Dividend

Category Debt Scheme - Money Market Fund
NAV 100.9099
Repurchase Price
Sale Price
Date 08-May-2020




market

ICICI Prudential Money Market Fund Option - Monthly Dividend

Category Debt Scheme - Money Market Fund
NAV 100.6594
Repurchase Price
Sale Price
Date 08-May-2020




market

ICICI Prudential Money Market Fund Option - Growth

Category Debt Scheme - Money Market Fund
NAV 279.9842
Repurchase Price
Sale Price
Date 08-May-2020




market

ICICI Prudential Money Market Fund Option - Dividend Others

Category Debt Scheme - Money Market Fund
NAV 142.7596
Repurchase Price
Sale Price
Date 08-May-2020




market

ICICI Prudential Money Market Fund Option - Daily Dividend

Category Debt Scheme - Money Market Fund
NAV 100.1295
Repurchase Price
Sale Price
Date 08-May-2020




market

ICICI Prudential Money Market Fund Retail Growth (erstwhile Cash Option)

Category Debt Scheme - Money Market Fund
NAV 306.6704
Repurchase Price
Sale Price
Date 24-Apr-2020




market

ICICI Prudential Money Market Fund Option - Direct Plan - Weekly Dividend

Category Debt Scheme - Money Market Fund
NAV 101.0058
Repurchase Price
Sale Price
Date 08-May-2020




market

ICICI Prudential Money Market Fund Option - Direct Plan - Monthly Dividend

Category Debt Scheme - Money Market Fund
NAV 100.7308
Repurchase Price
Sale Price
Date 08-May-2020




market

ICICI Prudential Money Market Fund Option - Direct Plan - Growth

Category Debt Scheme - Money Market Fund
NAV 281.7896
Repurchase Price
Sale Price
Date 08-May-2020




market

ICICI Prudential Money Market Fund Option - Direct Plan - Fortnightly Dividend

Category Debt Scheme - Money Market Fund
NAV 101.0476
Repurchase Price
Sale Price
Date 08-May-2020




market

ICICI Prudential Money Market Fund Option - Direct Plan - Dividend Others

Category Debt Scheme - Money Market Fund
NAV 143.4560
Repurchase Price
Sale Price
Date 08-May-2020




market

ICICI Prudential Money Market Fund Option - Direct Plan - Daily Dividend

Category Debt Scheme - Money Market Fund
NAV 100.1435
Repurchase Price
Sale Price
Date 08-May-2020




market

ICICI Prudential Money Market Fund Dividend

Category Debt Scheme - Money Market Fund
NAV 100.0952
Repurchase Price
Sale Price
Date 24-Apr-2020




market

ICICI Prudential Money Market Fund -Bonus

Category Debt Scheme - Money Market Fund
NAV 118.0134
Repurchase Price 118.0134
Sale Price 118.0134
Date 21-Nov-2016




market

ICICI Prudential Money Market Fund - Direct Plan Bonus

Category Debt Scheme - Money Market Fund
NAV 151.2089
Repurchase Price
Sale Price
Date 24-Apr-2020




market

L&T Money Market Fund -Direct Plan- Monthly Dividend

Category Debt Scheme - Money Market Fund
NAV 12.0613
Repurchase Price
Sale Price
Date 08-May-2020




market

L&T Money Market Fund -Direct Plan- Growth

Category Debt Scheme - Money Market Fund
NAV 20.633
Repurchase Price
Sale Price
Date 08-May-2020




market

L&T Money Market Fund - Regular Plan - Weekly Dividend

Category Debt Scheme - Money Market Fund
NAV 12.98
Repurchase Price
Sale Price
Date 08-May-2020




market

L&T Money Market Fund - Regular Plan - Monthly Dividend

Category Debt Scheme - Money Market Fund
NAV 11.607
Repurchase Price
Sale Price
Date 08-May-2020




market

L&T Money Market Fund - Regular Plan - Growth

Category Debt Scheme - Money Market Fund
NAV 20.0584
Repurchase Price
Sale Price
Date 08-May-2020




market

L&T Money Market Fund - Regular Plan - Daily Dividend

Category Debt Scheme - Money Market Fund
NAV 10.8591
Repurchase Price
Sale Price
Date 08-May-2020




market

L&T Money Market Fund - Direct Plan - Weekly Dividend

Category Debt Scheme - Money Market Fund
NAV 13.041
Repurchase Price
Sale Price
Date 08-May-2020




market

L&T Money Market Fund - Direct Plan - Daily Dividend

Category Debt Scheme - Money Market Fund
NAV 10.8591
Repurchase Price
Sale Price
Date 08-May-2020




market

OnePlus Bullets Wireless Z Might Hit Indian Market Soon

OnePlus Bullets Wireless Z earphones were launched last month alongside the new OnePlus 8 series. The earphones are priced at Rs 1,999 in India, which is cheaper than the US price. The OnePlus 8 and the 8 Pro smartphones are expected






market

From the Philippines, Not With Love: A Plague of Publishing and Marketing Scams


Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware®

I've been expending a lot of words and time lately warning about the latest scam phenomenon to hit the writing world: fake publishing and marketing companies that, through outrageous prices and worthless services, extract enormous amounts of money from unwary writers.

Based in the Philippines (despite their apparent US addresses, phone numbers, and telemarketer names) and focusing primarily on small press and self-published authors (particularly authors who've published with one of the Author Solutions imprints), these companies recruit writers with relentless--and highly deceptive--phone and email solicitations. Some do provide the services authors pay for, albeit at seriously inflated prices and often of poor quality. Others just take the money and run. I'm hearing from a growing number of writers who've paid five figures in fees to one--or, in some cases, more than one--of these scams, with next to nothing to show for it.

Given how fast the scams are proliferating (I learn about a new one every few weeks), I thought it would be helpful to gather all the information I've put together about them in one place.

My posts about the scams--where they come from, how they work, and how to recognize them:

- Army of Clones: Author Solutions Spawns a Legion of Copycats
- Army of Clones Part 2: Twenty-One (More) Publishing and Marketing "Services" to Beware Of
- Solicitation Alert: LitFire Publishing
- Amelia Publishing and Amelia Book Company: Sons of LitFire Publishing
- Solicitation Alert: Book-Art Press Solutions and Window Press Club
- Solicitation (and Plagiarism) Alert: Legaia Books / Paperclips Magazine

Here's a list of the scams themselves--at least, the nearly 100 I've identified so far (the list is also posted in the sidebar of this blog). You'll note that a number of them operate under more than one name--I suspect the interconnection is much greater than this, but I've only indicated the additional names where I've been able to reliably document them.

Some have perished since I began the list--I've noted this, but left their names, for the sake of authors who may have been scammed while they were operational.

- Access Media Group (aka Quill Space Media)
- Ace Media Creative Publication / Ace Media International / APM Media Production (aka Pearson Media Groups)
- ADBooks Media (aka Coffee Press / Okir Publishing, which is defunct)
- Alpha Books Solutions
- Alpha Books United
- Amelia Publishing / Amelia Book Company (aka LitFire Publishing / GoToPublish)
- AnalytIQ
- Ascribed LLC (defunct)
- Author Aide
- Author Codex (aka BookSpine Press)
- Author Media Express
- Author Pro Creatives and Marketing (defunct) (still doing business as Matchstick Literary)
- Author Reputation Press
- Author University
- AuthorCentrix (formerly BookBlastPro)
- AuthorLair
- Author's Note 360
- Authors Press (aka Westwood Books Publishing [formerly Greenberry] / Creative Books)
- Beacon Books Agency
- Black Lacquer Press & Marketing
- BooConn Marketing
- Book Agency Plus (aka BookTrail Agency)
- Book Art Press Solutions (aka Window Press Club / Booktimes)
- Book Avenue Publishing (aka Nivra Press, which is defunct)
- Book Magnets
- Book Reads Publishing (defunct)
- BookSpine Press (aka Author Codex)
- Booktimes (aka Book Art Press Solutions / Window Press Club)
- BookTrail Agency (aka Book Agency Plus)
- Book Vine Press
- Books Scribe
- BookVenture Publishing
- BookWhip (aka Carter Press / PRM Solutions)
- Box Office Media Creatives (aka Buzz Media Creatives)
- Bright Lights Distribution
- Buzz Media Creatives (aka Box Office Media Creatives)
- Capstone Media Services (defunct) (now doing business as Stampa / Stampa Global)
- Carter Press (aka BookWhip / PRM Solutions)
- Chapters Media & Advertising (aka Techbooks Media)
- Coffee Press (aka ADBooks Media) (formerly Okir Publishing)
- Creative Books (aka Westwood Books Publishing / Authors Press)
- Creative Titles Media  (aka TrueMedia Creatives)
- Crest Media Distribution
- Diamond Media Press
- Dream Books Distribution
- EC Publishing
- Editor's Creative Media (aka Editor's Press and Media)
- Editor's Press and Media (aka Editor's Creative Media)
- Global Summit House
- Gold Touch Press
- Golden Ink Media Services
- Goldman Agency
- GoToPublish (aka LitFire Publishing / Amelia Publishing / Amelia Book Company)
- Happy Media Consulting
- Haynes Media Group
- IdeoPage Press Solutions (aka The Writer Central)
- Legaia Books
- Lettra Press
- LitFire Publishing (aka Amelia Publishing / Amelia Book Company / GoToPublish)
- Maple Leaf Publishing
- MatchStick Literary (aka Author Pro Creatives and Marketing --defunct)
- McNaughton Books / McNaughton Publishing (website is currently dead)
- Netsfilm & Media Press
- New Leaf Media
- New Reader Media
- Nivra Press (defunct) (still doing business as Book Avenue Publishing)
- Okir Publishing (defunct) (still doing business as ADbook Press / Coffee Press)
- Outstrip (defunct)
- PRM Solutions LLC (aka Carter Press / Bookwhip)
- Pacific Books
- PageClapp Media
- PageTurner, Press and Media
- Parchment Global Publishing
- Paradigm Print
- Paramount Books Media
- Pearson Media Groups (aka Ace Media Creative Publication / Ace Media International)
- Press To Impress Publishing
- Pubkits.com
- Quill Space Media (aka Access Media Group)
- Readers Magnet
- Royale House (defunct)
- Rushmore Press
- Sherlock Press (defunct)
- Silver Fox Media
- Stampa / Stampa Global (formerly Capstone Media Services)
- Stonewall Press (aka Uirtus Solutions) (both defunct)
- Stratton Press
- Techbooks Media (aka Chapters Media & Advertising)
- Toplink Publishing
- TrueMedia Creatives (aka Creative Titles Media)
- Uirtus Solutions (aka Stonewall Press) (both defunct)
- Universal Book Solutions
- URLink Print and Media
- Vivlio (a.k.a. Vivlio Hill, Vivlio Hill Publishing, Vivlio Solutions, Vivlio Marketing Solutions)
- WestPoint Print and Media
- Westwood Books Publishing (formerly Greenberry) (aka Authors Press / Creative Books)
- Window Press Club (aka Book Art Press Solutions / Booktimes)
- WorkBook Press
- The Writer Central (aka IdeoPage Press Solutions)
- YourOnlinePublicist
- Zeta Publishing

(I'm continuously updating this list--adding new companies as I discover them, noting the ones that disappear.)

I know my warnings are having an effect, not just because I'm hearing from writers who've found my posts or my list and have been able to avoid being ripped off, but because some of the scams are getting...a little defensive. Book-Art Press now includes this in its solicitation emails:
The links are to anti-Writer Beware screeds from people WB has exposed.

The grievance is definitely on display in this one, from MatchStick Literary (it also showcases the scams' trademark fractured English):

See ya at Writer Beware, scammers!

UPDATE 12/10/19: I want to highlight this recent comment, which illustrates how ubiquitous and persistent these scams are. Bottom line: if you self-publish, you can count on being solicited. Be on your guard. (By "GoTo", I'm assuming the commenter means GoToPublish.)





market

Junk Book Marketing: Pay-to-Play Magazines


Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware®

Scroll down for updates

On this blog and elsewhere, I spend a lot of time warning about junk book marketing services: so-called marketing and promotional services that are cheap to provide, but can be sold at a big markup, and for the most part are of little worth for book promotion or can more effectively be done by the author him/herself. Some examples: press releases, email blasts, book trailers, book fair display, social media setup, and social media advertising.

All these and more are hawked to writers at exorbitant prices by assisted self-publishing companies like the various Author Solutions imprints--and also, increasingly, by their scam imitators. Either way, they're a ripoff...but the scammers demand even bigger fees, tell even bigger lies, and deliver even more shoddy results. And that's when they're not just taking your money and running.

A few weeks ago, I focused on pay-to-play radio interviews--another junk marketing service--and why they're not worth the huge fees charged by providers. This week, I'm going to talk about pay-to-play magazines. (You'll note that all the companies discussed below are on my Big List of Publishing and Marketing Scams.)

Have you ever received a solicitation like this one?
Or this one?
Or this one?
Of course the books haven't undergone "extensive evaluation", or been "carefully chosen", or showed to "a team" that "really like[s] your vision". Such solicitations are just spam, blasted out to addresses scraped from the internet or stolen from self-publishing company customer lists.

Nor are these real magazines, in the sense of publications that are widely available to the public. Instead, they're collections of ads, interviews, and "feature articles" sold to writers at huge prices, sometimes interspersed with general interest pieces (often really badly written) or, in the case of New Reader Magazine, with fiction, poetry, and art. These "publications" are never circulated in any meaningful sense; they may be posted online, but their primary mode of distribution is from tables in company booths at book fairs...where many of the authors buying ad or interview space have already paid a premium for display.


The prices the faux magazines charge for placement can be enormous. For instance, here's the  "Executive Full-Spread Ad" from Paperclips Magazine, which is owned by (not "partnered with" as claimed in its solicitation email) publishing and marketing scammer Legaia Books:


A "Showcase" full-page ad costs $3,698 ($2,218.80 on sale), and a "Premier" half-page ad clocks in at $2,599 ($1,299.50 on sale). Paperclips' parent company, Legaia Books, also sells publishing and marketing services at high prices, using deceptive sales tactics to target small press- and self-published authors.

Here's one writer's not very satisfactory experience with Paperclips. I've gotten emails from many others.

New Reader Magazine--which looks quite legit if you don't know better--is owned by New Reader Media. Though the magazine actually appears to provide small payments for content acquired via general submission, it charges anywhere from $5,000 and up for the magazine feature and "partnership" mentioned in its solicitation email. Like Legaia, New Reader Media also sells publishing and marketing services at gigantic prices, as well as book-to-screen services (always a scam).

New Reader has accumulated some online complaints due to its aggressive solicitation and poor performance. It has also been caught making false claims, such as that it was responsible for Christopher Paolini's bestselling novel Eragon being made into a movie.

The Christmas magazine that's the subject of EC Publishing's solicitation can be seen here (if you're brave, you can also check out the Las Vegas Edition, produced for the Las Vegas Book Festival). Like most of the pay-to-play magazines, it's a compilation of author-purchased ads and features, laughably badly-written general interest articles, and a smattering of actual advertising. Prices for inclusion range from a few hundred to several thousand dollars, depending on how much space is purchased.

Thanks to its aggressive soliciting, EC Publishing is the subject of a warning from the Australian Society of Authors.

Authors Press's Authorial magazine has its own website (note the "notice of non-affiliation and disclaimer" that pops up if you linger on the home page: the scammers read Writer Beware). Writers can buy a spot in the magazine, starting at fees of a few hundred dollars; ad space or "features" are also included in some of the more expensive promotional packages Authors Press offers.

Authorial's BEA 2019 issue consists of more than 75 pages of author ads, interviews, and excerpts. Just imagine the thousands of dollars in revenue generated by all those pages, some of which include ten or more ads. Also have a peek at Authorial's gallery page, which features photos of  the dozens of books displayed in Authors Press's BEA booth. In 2019, writers were being charged anywhere from $1,000 to $3,500 for presence in the booth, depending on what level of activity they chose. Now multiply all of this by the seven book fairs Authors Press attended in 2019. It's not chump change.

From URLink Print and Media comes Harbinger Post. Like the others, it's nearly all paid content, interspersed here and there with staff-written features. Here's an example of the caliber of that writing:


Other scammy publishing and marketing companies that sell space in proprietary magazines (I've received multiple complaints about all these companies):

Global Summit House: Global Summit House
Litfire Publishing: WayFairer
AuthorCentrix: AuthorCentrix Magazine
Stonewall Press (defunct): GoldCrest Magazine

Print advertising is expensive, and how useful it is for book marketing is an open question. But if it is to be effective at all, it must offer the possibility of being seen by a large audience of potentially interested readers and buyers.

That means circulation, subscriptions, and quality content beyond mere advertising--not ad-stuffed, error-ridden, proprietary publications whose only exposure to the public is a "free, take one" stack on a side table in a book fair booth. Even if the ad slots weren't insanely expensive--and even if writers didn't have to pay for what real magazines never charge for, such as interviews--buying space in these fake publications would be a waste of money.

Writer beware.

UPDATE 1/29/20: It's not just scammers that run this kind of racket. Via its PW Select - BookLife feature (which I discuss here and  here), industry magazine Publishers Weekly has begun to sell a "very special" service:


These prices rival the scammers'. And the promise of print exposure is not quite what it seems. Per PW's Q&A explainer, the interviews appear not in the body of the magazine, but in "PW’s BookLife supplement, which is published the last week of each month bound into that week’s issue of Publishers Weekly". In other words, easy for readers to ignore or skip over.

PW actually has the wide circulation and industry audience the scammers only pretend to. But given the huge fees and the segregation of the interviews in a separate supplement--not to mention the open question of how useful any kind of print advertising is for book marketing--there's more than a whiff of the same kind of exploitation here.




market

Japan's Anime Internet Distribution Market Overtakes Home Video Market

Total production minutes for TV anime in 2018 is 2nd highest in history




market

Friday Polynews Roundup — Kids of polyfamilies, more TV, by 2030 "a growing market for ‘polymoons’" after multi-weddings, and more



  • children of polyamory
  • Friday Polynews Roundup
  • kids
  • Poly 101

market

Coronavirus career pivots: 'I now work in a supermarket'

An actress and a commercial sales leader talk about making the switch to working in a supermarket.




market

FIFA Confederations Cup 2017 - Marketing Highlights

FIFA's Partners and Commercial Affiliates played a huge role in the success of the FIFA Confederations Cup Russia 2017. Enjoy this recap video!




market

Mumbai APMC to get international standard facilities: State Marketing Minister


Vashi APMC wholesale market. File pic

The Maharashtra government will provide international standard facilities for the Mumbai Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) in Vashi, one of the biggest agricultural wholesale markets in Asia. State Marketing Minister Subhash Deshmukh made the announcement during a meeting held here today with officials and traders, an official release said. The meeting was organised to know the problems faced by traders in Mumbai APMC.

During the meeting, the minister directed that international standard facilities be provided at this APMC. "The process of declaring the Mumbai APMC as a
national market area has commenced," the minister was quoted as saying in the release. During the meeting, traders in the vegetable and fruit sections told the minister that there was insufficient space in the APMC to carry out the business.

Deshmukh asked them to maintain regular dialogue with the administration and the market committee. He assured that the decision to reconstructing and
redevelop the APMC premises will be taken soon and asked the administrator to appoint an architect for the task.

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever





market

Ericsson launches customised network solutions for Indian market

Telecommunications service provider Ericsson on Thursday introduced a new category of radio products called Street Macro in India to enable a smooth evolution from 4G to 5G.

Street Macro is a new site type that addresses the need for operators to grow in cities with limited available radio locations.

The company also launched new radio products that support "Massive MIMO" technology to simplify use for wider 5G adoption.

"Operators today are looking at ways and means to increase network capacity, especially in urban areas. Ericsson's Street Macro adds a new layer in the network layer to boost capacity enabling service providers to cater to the growing demands of data users," Nitin Bansal, Managing Director, Ericsson India, told reporters here.

According to Ericsson's new economic study of enhanced mobile broadband, evolution to 5G will enable 10 times lower cost per gigabyte than current 4G networks.

To help operators capture growth opportunities presented by new 5G use cases, Ericsson has expanded its 5G Core System offering with new capabilities to support 5G New Radio (NR) standard and also enhanced its Distributed Cloud solution.

The announcement came on the sidelines of Ericsson's annual technology roadshow in India, where the company recreated a "Do Zone" to showcase the highlights from Mobile World Congress 2018.

To date Ericsson has signed 39 memorandums of understanding with service providers for trials, the company said.





market

COVID-19 impact: Uncertainty looms over APMC market operations

Four more cases of Coronavirus were reported from the APMC market — three in the vegetable and one in the grain market — on Thursday, increasing the uncertainty about the operation of the wholesale grain and vegetable market.

The infected include three traders and one purchaser. APMC already has 24 traders and 16 staff, including security guards, NMMC doctors and a pharmacist, in home-quarantine after they came in contact with an infected person. Besides, 14 others from the market are infected. The spike also raises concerns about the steps taken by the APMC committee to combat the spread of the virus at the cost of nearly a crore.

Shivaji Daund, commissioner of the Konkan division, said, "We are awaiting the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation's (NMMC) report on the latest positive cases. Accordingly, we will decide on whether to continue the operations."

A crore spent on precautions

Shashikant Shinde, APMC elected committee member and Mathadi workers union leader said, "Last week, six positive cases were reported at a hotel within APMC premises. It was decided that the market would shut down but due to government pressure, the decision was changed and only the hotel was sealed. Vegetable trucks are directly entering Mumbai. Very few trucks with vegetables, grains, fruits, spices, visit APMC."

Shinde added that according to the government APMC is an essential service and hence cannot be shut down. "I had recently suggested that we keep the market open for just three days of the week. The suggestion was turned down."

Highly placed APMC officials said the committee has spent nearly R1 crore to set up disinfectant spraying machines, a war room, and to get the market cleaned twice a week. Another nearly R50 lakh was spent to make alternative arrangements for 402 stalls for vegetable and fruit vendors in Kharghar, but that won't be utilised as traders feel the market in Vashi is already set.

Market insiders said, "We are using disinfectants and have thermal scanners at the main entrance but nothing can detect asymptomatic false-positive carriers of COVID-19. People coming in contact with such carriers are testing positive. The number will only increase in the coming days."

Another elected member of the APMC committee said, "Another problem is traders placing orders for multiple trucks full of produce.

"We allow only three hundred trucks to enter APMC per day and 300 are parked at the terminal waiting for entry. This shows that some traders are keen on making money during a pandemic."

Security officer infected

Last week, a 50-year-old security officer attached to the Maharashtra Security Board and deployed at APMC, tested positive. Five security guards, three officers, and two clerks attached to the fruit market had come in contact with him and were sent to home-quarantine.

"We were tested two days ago. The report will come in another two days. We are asymptomatic and are in home quarantine. The security officer used to attend meetings and take rounds of the fruit market," said Ishwar Masram, deputy secretary of the fruit market, who is also in home quarantine.

Sources within the market said, "Though it is not clear how the security officer got infected, the buzz in the market is that he attended a meeting organised by a state minister who is recuperating after getting infected. Our concern is that it is practically difficult to trace whom the concerned person came in contact with unless the person has downloaded the government's Ayush application that maps positive patients and their contacts."

"APMC has a staff of 550 people. The concern is that if one tests positive, 10 to 15 people contacts will have to be traced and tested. This means the number of working men will reduce as everyone will have to be quarantined," said Shirish Badgujar, assistant secretary APMC.

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news




market

COVID-19 outbreak in APMC: Vashi vegetable market is back under scanner

With over a 100 people testing positive for COVID-19 at the APMC market in Vashi, Navi Mumbai Mayor Jayawant Sutar has demanded that it be locked down. He has threatened to write to the Maharashtra Governor and to the Central Health Committee Task Force.

Speaking to mid-day, Sutar, the mayor from BJP, said, "As per my information, the APMC already has over 100 cases of Coronavirus. When a positive case was detected on April 28, NMMC Commissioner Annasaheb Misal had ordered to shut the market for 14 days, but had to withdraw the order, after the Konkan Commissioner refused to do so."

"I spoke to Misal again during a conversation with bureaucrats and he has expressed concern over the increasing number of positive cases in the market. But so far, no decision has been taken on shutting it down," said Sutar. "Our job is to bring the matter to the notice of the government and ministers, with whom lies the final decision. If they do not heed our request, we will bring the issue to the notice of the Maharashtra Governor and the Central Health Committee Task Force monitoring the outbreak," Sutar added.

APMC Administrator and Secretary Anil Chavan, said, "As per our record, only 25 staff, including traders, have tested positive. We have been asking for swab test reports from the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC), but for reasons best known to them, they have not shared the reports with us." Chavan added, "We have come to know that in case a trader tests positive, the NMMC will take into account all his family members which will show a higher count."


There has been no decision on closing the market yet. File pic

When asked if they are still contemplating shutting APMC, as suggested by some traders, Chavan said, "We have learnt that government officials are still discussing this and in the next few days, the matter would be clear. Meanwhile, APMC market is functioning with restrictions and if a trader gets infected, we ensure that his galla and the two adjacent gallas are closed and sanitised."

mid-day asked Sutar about NMMC not sharing the test reports with APMC, to which he replied, "There is no reason to not share the information. All COVID-19 cases are told about to the health department and the government daily. So there is no question about APMC claiming lack of information."

A trader who did not wish to be identified, said, "It is unfortunate that the APMC market is becoming a hotspot for COVID-19. Right from the beginning, we have been alerting the APMC committee about an outbreak possibility and that they should shut the market for a few days, but our plea fell on deaf ears."

Blame game over outbreak

Sources in the APMC committee said that as opposed to the 300 trucks allowed in the market per day, traders continue to over-order stock, which is leading to several extra trucks waiting at the truck terminal. This, sources say, is exacerbating the outbreak in the market.

The market also does not have any way to prevent asymptomatic infected people from entering the premises.

Traders, on the other hand, say that the market generates a business of several crores per day and that the committee and the government do not want to interrupt that cash flow. "If someone gets infected in one stall (galla), several other workers working for the particular trader automatically run the risk of getting infected and so do their families. We have suggested that the market be completely shut for one full week with a few days' notice so people can stock up. But even that suggestion is not being taken as it will interrupt the cash flow," another trader who did not wish to be named said.

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news




market

Coronavirus Outbreak in Navi Mumbai: Vashi APMC market to be shut from May 11 to 17

With the cases of Coronavirus continue to surge in the city, the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) has decided to suspend its operations from May 11 to 17.

The market committee has decided to shut all five markets, that include onion-potato markets, spices, fruits, vegetables and grains. The decision was made as cases among the market participants have been rising in spite of strict guidelines put in place to maintain social distance.

Navi Mumbai mayor Jaywant Sutar had urged the Maharashtra government to shut the APMC Market in a bid to stop the movement of people as many of the customers come from Mumbai to the travel to buy their stock of groceries.

The APMC Market in Vashi is the largest supplier of fruits, vegetables, grains and spices to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news




market

Vashi's APMC market will be shut for seven days

A day after former Navi Mumbai mayor Jayawant Sutar threatened to take the matter of increasing COVID-19 cases at Agricultural Produce Market Committee market in Vashi to the higher-ups, officials at a high-level meeting unanimously decided to shut it from May 11 to May 17.

All five markets — vegetable, fruit, grain, dry fruit and spice — will remain shut from Monday till the lockdown ends. The market will remain open this weekend. NMMC Commissioner Annasaheb Misal, Maharashtra principal secretary (marketing) Anoop Kumar, IAS officer Sanjeev Jaiswal, Konkan Divisional Commissioner Shivaji Daund, APMC police officers and APMC traders were at the meet on Friday afternoon.

Daund told mid-day, "We will carry out extensive spraying of disinfectants during the shutdown and the APMC staff, including traders and APMC police, will be screened and tested. We will hold regular meetings through video conferencing to understand the momentum of work." He added that they will review the matter on May 15 to decide on a phased reopening or extension.

APMC Secretary and Administrator Anil Chavan, who also attended the meeting, said they decided to close the markets to contain the spread of COVID. "We will keep the market open this Saturday and Sunday so that essential supplies could be stocked for 10 days in Mumbai and neighbouring areas."

mid-day had, on Friday, reported about the Sutar, whose term as the Navi Mumbai mayor ended recently, demanding that market to be shut.

"I was going to write a letter to the central health team, too, but I am now informed that at a high-level meeting a decision was taken to shut the market for a week. It is evident that not only traders, but even their staff, and APMC mathadi workers were at high risk as they visit the market daily. Also, we have learnt that some APMC staffers would have had to take voluntary retirement had the market remained open. The traders are already terrified," he said.

Sutar added, "Had the government wanted they could have made an amendment to the existing APMC Act, and allowed him to continue as the mayor. But, they allowed the administrator and APMC to take the decisions."

Vijay Bhuta, director, APMC Spices Market, said there were only eight cases at the masala market so far. "Majority of the positive cases were reported from other markets in APMC." "Residents living around the market were concerned about the increasing number of cases," he added.

A resident of Turbhe village said, "On Friday, two more positive cases were reported in the village and both men worked at the APMC market. We have requested Turbhe and Kopri villagers to not allow APMC staffers in their locality to venture out." Sutar said he has raised the concern about people travelling to and from red zones.

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news