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Price of fine rice hits the roof
Traders are justifying the high price, claiming that they are forced to sell at a higher rate because of shortage of fine rice. They say that the rate will go up further in the coming months. Keeping this in view, people have demanded the administration to initiate action to check the prices of fine rice.
Nizamabad: The price of fine rice in Nizamabad, which is known as grains granary of Telangana, that was stable till the recent past virtually hit the roof rising from Rs.3,000 to Rs.3,800 a quintal because of drought and deficit rainfall during the last two years. Each kg of rice is being sold at Rs.34 to Rs.38, with stocks in market getting exhausted.
Traders are justifying the high price, claiming that they are forced to sell at a higher rate because of shortage of fine rice. They say that the rate will go up further in the coming months. Keeping this in view, people have demanded the administration to initiate action to check the prices of fine rice.
Usually there is a good price for fine rice in August and September. Exploiting this, traders have allegedly kept huge stocks, more than their capacity, causing artificial scarcity of the commodity and leading to the price hike.
Decline in the cultivation of paddy during the kharif season in Indur has also contributed to the price rise, which has severely affected people belonging to the middle and low-income groups. Taking advantage of the price rise, some top traders of Nizamabad and middle men have allegedly resorted to hoarding of stocks.
Rice millers in Banswada, Bodhan and Nizamabad areas, besides wealthy farmers, have also hoarded fine rice stocks in secret places and warehouses. This has also affected the price situation in the market. As stocks are piling up with traders, purchasers are forced to pay more, causing a burden to them.
This situation is likely to continue till the fresh kharif stocks reach the market.Paddy is cultivated in Nizamabad district thanks to the irrigation facilities offered by the Nizamsagar and Sriramsagar projects and borewell water, with the former covering 2.35 lakh acres.
With the level in Nizamsagar reaching dead storage, the crop has declined to below one lakh acres this year. There was not even 50 per cent of paddy cultivation in this kharif of the three lakh acre area sown across the district.Farmers raised paddy in 25,000 acres under the Lakshmi Canal and in Bodhan, Banswada, Jukkal and Yellareddy constituencies covered by bore-wells. The fall in paddy yield also led to the price rise.
In the past, the civil supplies department officials were able to contain the rice price by resorting to raids and starting paddy procurement centres in Nizamabad, Kamareddy, Banswada, Bodhan and Armur towns. They also supplied rice on ration cards. Thanks to these centres, officials were able to check the activities of hoarders.
But now, the administration does not seem to be taking interest in effectively tackling the price situation, having failed to take any steps, like making available kharif stocks in the market, the people feel. They want the officialdom to act at least now.
