BHUBANESWAR: As the extremely severe cyclonic storm Fani inches closer, prices of essential commodities skyrocketed in different parts of coastal and interior Odisha keeping in pace with the cyclone as people resorted to panic buying. Buyers thronged different daily markets in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack to stock up on vegetables, dry food and fruits. Though grocery items remained unchanged, price of potato, onion and other vegetables has been almost doubled. According to market sources, potato, which was being sold at Rs 12-a-kg few days back, is now charged Rs 22 to Rs 30 per kg while onion vanished from the retail shops in the periphery areas of the Capital.
While tomato, brinjal and ladyfinger are priced at Rs 40 to 50 a kilo each, bitter gourd, pointed gourd and coriander leaves are sold at Rs 60, Rs 100 and Rs 200 a kg respectively. Retail vegetable markets and shopping malls like Big Bazaar and Reliance Fresh witnessed huge rush on Wednesday and Thursday as people made a beeline to buy commodities. Not only shops, long queues were also witnessed before the fuel stations. “If the prediction of Met office is to be believed, Bhubaneswar will experience heavy rainfall. That’s why I have purchased essential commodities and dry food for at least a week. The traders have already hiked the price, which may increase further,” said Indumati Sahani, a resident of Unit-IX. Traders attributed it to the rise in demand from the consumers, who procured commodities two to three times of their usual requirement in anticipation of the stocks vanishing.
General secretary of Odisha Byabasayee Mahasangha Sudhakar Panda said there is no reason to panic as required quantity of essential commodities has been stocked and green vegetables will arrive as usual if there is no damage to roads. “There was scarcity of some commodities on Wednesday as labourers did not load and unload as it was Labour Day. Though we have been advising people to buy only the quantity required, they are in no mood to pay any heed. Markets witnessed heavy rush and people went for more tuber and dry foods besides vegetables,” Panda said. Panda informed that potato and onion is priced at Rs 1,350 a quintal in the wholesale market.
It is the retailers who are taking advantage of the situation to make some easy bucks, he added and demanded the administration to step in immediately. Meanwhile, the Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Department has directed district collectors to keep a close watch on price and availability of essential commodities in the market and ensure that food items are available at reasonable prices to the consumers. Since disruption of supply of different commodities like pulses, edible oil, sugar, potato, onion, flattened rice and jaggery is apprehended, an official communication warned that unscrupulous traders may resort to unfair practices like hoarding and profiteering leading to public discontentment. The market intelligence wing has been asked to keep close watch on hoarding by unscrupulous traders. Collectors have been instructed to deploy civil supply and market intelligence field staff for surprise checks and take action under provisions of Essential Commodities Act, 1995 against illegal hoarders if warranted.