Abhijith N Kolpe

Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru

Mangaluru, Jul 5: The lockdown has severely affected every sector in the society pushing many to the wall including the student community with no colleges open.

During this time of distress, inspiring people, a group 24 students have started business of selling jamun fruits on the streets of Mangaluru. Students, from different streams in different colleges in Mangaluru, have joined their hands in this business which has helped them a lot during the lockdown period.

The students are friends among themselves and know each other since many years. Jamun has a good demand in Mangaluru and many carts and vehicles selling the fruit can be seen in the city. A kilo of jamun costs around Rs 400.

During the lockdown, the demand for the fruit increased drastically. People preferred to buy the fruit as it has medicinal values too. The students sell the fruits at different places in Mangaluru like near TMA Pai hall, Ladyhill and Urwa Store.

Speaking to daijiworld.com, Sandeep from Mangaluru, who is pursuing BCom at a private college said, “During the second wave of the pandemic, I faced a lot of difficulties. I am pursuing graduation. My family is undergoing financial problems. My other friends too had a tough time sitting at home and were looking for jobs. Petty jobs like catering and decoration too which could help us earn some money, were also not available.

“We then approached Sathish Prabhu, who supported us in setting up this jamun fruit business. This has helped all our friends a lot. Raghu Boloor also helped us.

“A month ago, jamun cost Rs 400 per kilo which has now come down to Rs 200. It has a lot of medicinal values. It is good for diabetics. The demand is very high for the fruits and more than 200 kilos of jamun is sold every day. Seeds of the fruit which are dried cost Rs 800 per kilo. Even doctors purchase this fruit in bulk. We thank Sathish Prabhu who helped all my friends in this difficult time,” says Sandeep.