SRINAGAR The prices of essential commodities have sky-rocketed in Srinagar with consumers blaming the enforcement agencies for their failure to keep the rates under check.
After the recent snowfall the Consumer Affairs Public Distribution (CAPD) department had issued a rate list for sale of vegetables and fruits in the retail market. But the rate list was not being adhered to by the vendors here.
As per the CAPD rate list, price of potato has been fixed at Rs 18 (white potato) and Rs 22 per kilogram (red potato), onions at Rs 22 per kg while rate of tomatoes has been fixed at Rs 26 per kg. Among the traditional vegetables, price of Saag has been fixed at Rs 40 per kg while lotus root or nadru produced from the Dal has been fixed at Rs 175 per bunch. Price of bananas as per their quality has been fixed at Rs 60 and Rs 70 per dozen. However the consumers reasoned that these prices are rarely adhered to.
However in different Srinagar markets, tomato is being sold at Rs 50-60 a kg, beans are sold at Rs 70, potatoes Rs 50 while chicken sells at 140-50 per kg.
The vegetable vendors have reasoned that that due to the snowfall, the supply of vegetables has decreased resulting into the price hike. But consumers blamed the authorities for the price rise. We have no alternative but to purchase whatever prices the vegetables are available at,said Ghulam Mohiuddin, a whole- sale cloth merchant at Hari Singh High Street.
Umer Farooq, a local said, that he was buying a tray of egg containing two-and-half-dozen eggs at 150 rupees while yesterday the same costed him 175 rupees. There are no rate lists with the vegetable sellers. They have also hiked the prices of locally grown vegetables like nadru, turnip, radish, etc. while the administration is passing the buck.
Local residents said that the government has failed to put in place market checking squads which was resulting into the hike in prices of essential commodities.
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