KOCHI: Until recently the onions had been running the tear ducts of the consumer on high drive, but bulbs have been pushed to the sidelines by the pulses. The skyrocketing prices of the black gram and dal has the pulse beat of common man busting the sphygmomanometer! The ones who have been hit the most are the middle and lower income group families, who now find it difficult to come up with a balanced budget. The rising prices have also reflected adversely on the ‘city life’.
The price of black gram and dal registered the highest increase last week. The price of black gram rose to `180 from `75 in last two months and that of dal moved up from `85 to 90 per kg to `205 in last three months. “Common people are the most affected by the price rise. We are struggling to balance our monthly budget. We have to buy around two kilogram of toor dal, black gram and about one kilogram of green gram every month. These commodities cannot be excluded and it is impossible to reduce the use of these items. We are left with no option now,” says Celin Josey, a housewife in the city.
“The price of vegetables and pulses are increasing day after day. Today’s price will change tomorrow and there is no stability. This situation has been continuing for about last two weeks. We have a fixed rate for food that we make with commodities with fluctuating prices. It is not possible to change the price of food on a daily basis as and when the price of commodities rise,” says Rajendran T G, member of All Kerala caterers association.
“It is not scarcity that is causing this price hike but hoarding. All these commodities are available in plenty,” says Kanni Kumar owner of a vegetarian restaurant.
The price of commodities keeps fluctuating. Today’s price may not be tomorrow’s price. Sometimes we have to sell commodities for much less price than we bought. Now, we are scared to stock products,” says Udaya Bhanu, a grocery merchant in the city.
The skyrocketing of price of daily commodities is always a nightmare for common man in the state. The Central Government has taken several measures to control hoarding and black marketeering.