‘Hot’ vegetables too pricey!

According to a report, over the last three years, the salary of the common man has gone up by 10-15 per cent, where as the vegetables and fruits price have gone up by 125-160 per cent. The aam aadmi is finding it hard to battle the hike in food price and withstand inflation.

Onions that costed Rs15 two weeks ago has now hiked to Rs 20. An average 25 per cent hike is noticed in the cost of vegetables.

“Summer is on and its vacation time. All mothers want to make special savouries for their children as they return home after sweating it out on the playground. Here, the dilemma arises, to make children happy or to maintain the budget?,” quoted Renu, a worried housewife.

Sudden changes in the weather and brief rainfalls are spoiling the crops. Cost of green leafy vegetables has shot up due to quick rotting of crops following uneven climate and unseasonal rains. Spinach, which was sold for Rs 5 per bundle, is now costing Rs 7, a clear 40 per cent hike. Vegetables and fruits get costly every year due to shortage of water in summer, but this summer has proven to be the driest.

Households are badly affected by this price hike. “We have no option, but to buy veggies at high cost or stop eating,” stated Shreeja, a housewife in irony. People are finding it difficult to make both ends meet.

The price of relatively cheaper veggies like potato, cabbage and ladyfinger, has also shot up by 27 per cent.

“With the price of vegetables shooting up, we have to cut down on other expenses such as outings,” said Maya, a housewife from Uppal.

While people close to Raythu Bazaars are happy that the price of vegetables is comparatively lesser than those at other local markets, people who live away from the markets have no option but to buy the costly vegetables.

Below is a table listing the contrasting cost of few vegetables in the market.