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| Stalls, stocks and shoppers, all were thin for the Sunday haat at Lall Bazaar today |
GANGTOK, 13 Feb: Sunday, haat day at the Kanchanjunga Shopping Complex [Lall Bazaar], but business was not as usual. As is custom during bandhs, the people who came out to shop today went home with a little less in their shopping bags as a result of the low supplies and the resultant escalated prices.
While speaking to NOW!, Siddhiram Chettri, who was manning the SIMFED counter, said, “We have been
making do with the stock that came in on Wednesday but now it is almost over and a drastic step will have to be taken by tomorrow for fresh supplies”. This should ease starting tomorrow now that the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha has clarified that Sikkim traffic on the highway was exempted from the purview of the bandh. This was not the case till today when movement on the highway was limited.
With supplies having shut out over the past week, prices have shot up, with the local vegetables the only option for the public here since supplies from Siliguri have stopped.
A kilo of cauliflower that cost Rs 10 a week back has gone up to Rs 40/kg, onions were selling for Rs 20/kg and today cost Rs 40/kg, while a kilo of potato saw a slight rise from Rs 10/kg to Rs 15/kg.
“There should be some sort of ceiling for prices for the local vegetable vendors too because it is at times like these that one sees blatant overpricing,” said one Deki Bhutia who was shopping at Lall Bazaar, adding that she did not buy much today in view of the high prices.
Tinku, a fruit vendor, informed that his stock will soon be over and he might have to resort to buying a carton of bananas for Rs 90 to Rs 150 [a reference to the rates during previous bandhs] as opposed to the usual rate of Rs 60 per carton. As freight rates go up due to strikes, so does the cost of their products on sale, he informed. However, if there is a drop in the wholesale prices then there would be no difference as such in retail prices he further informed.
[TSHERING EDEN]
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