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Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Vegetable prices soar in South Sikkim as festival season hits

NAMCHI, 01 Nov: The runway increase in the prices of vegetables during the festival season has put constraints on household budgets here in the South District headquarter, Namchi.
The Diwali festival of the past week of October has given way to increasingly expensive vegetables and further rise in prices of basic vegetables like tomatoes, onions and potatoes can be expected to increase this week as well. Meanwhile, retailers are charging very high prices depending on the availability of commodities in the market and customers are forced to carefully prepare their budget in order to cope with the rising prices.
Vidhya Rai resident of Ghurpisey, shopping at the Vegetable Market Complex here said, “The prices of vegetables are shockingly high. Many vegetables such as potatoes, tomatoes and onion are priced between Rs. 35-50 per kg. Bean is going at Rs. 70 per Kg. The price of cauliflower is 60-80, peas is 200 per Kg… all this makes one plan on which vegetables to leave out from the festival treats”.
She informs that her budget for vegetable purchases has doubled in the past year even though she is now rationing what she buys at the market.
Vegetable retailers in Namchi blame the high whole sale rates at Siliguri, West Bengal and even the vegetables grown within Sikkim.
However, when contacted, some retailers of Siliguri vegetable mandi informed that the cost of tomatoes is Rs. 17 per Kg while it is sold at Rs. 30-35 per Kg. in Namchi, cost of onion is Rs. 15-18 per kg but customers at Namchi have to pay more than double the amount. It is the same with other vegetables as well.
The escalating transportation costs and labour charges to bring vegetables from Siliguri to Namchi cannot justify the exorbitant rates being charged.  Similar is the case with all the bazaars of South District which points at the absence of proper agencies in the South District to maintain the rates of vegetables. As the concerned government department fails to take notice of the fluctuating rates of vegetables, the high prices continue to burn holes in the common man’s pocket.

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