Along with rain, Monsoon has also brought hike in vegetable prices. Vegetables have witnessed spurt in prices, causing difficulties to the common man in managing one’s monthly budget.
The prices of most of the widely-consumed vegetables have shot up since last week. Increase in prices has forced the people of Bhopal to cut down their use and change their preferences. Vegetable vendors claim that similar situation would continue in near future as most of the areas from where the vegetables are transported to Bhopal, have been disconnected due to heavy rains.
In the last one week, the prices of vegetables have increased by upto 50 per cent. Tomato which was sold at Rs60 per kg, now costs Rs85 per kg. Other vegetables like coriander leaves, ginger and capsicum are also sold at a higher price. An unexpected increase in the prices of vegetables, has bump the family budget of most of the households in the city. To manage with the high prices, they have to cut down the use of some vegetables.
“We are compelled to buy the vegetables at an available price, but to compensate our budget, we are adding more potato dishes in our meals,” says a housewife, Usha Devalia. “Are these only the good days that the Modi Government promised to give usIJ We were expecting the prices of vegetables and commodities will go down, but present scenario is totally different,” says a businessman, Ajay Mishra.
“Heavy rains are creating problems in the transportation of the vegetables coming from within the State or other parts of the country. Since, vegetables are perishable commodities, by the time they reach the city, nearly half of them gets spoiled. This is the main reason behind this unusual increase in price,” explains Chairman of Bittan Market Mandi (vegetable market) Hariom Khatik.