GUWAHATI: Ethnic violence on one side, stinging inflation on the other. Manipuris have never had it this bad.
Commodities as essential as cooking gas and petrol are not readily available in the ongoing curfew and the black marketeers are having a field day.
The price of an LPG cylinder has shot up beyond Rs 2,000 while petrol is being sold at Rs 250 per litre in the black market.
Similarly, prices of essential commodities such as rice, potato, onion and other vegetables have also skyrocketed amid the tumultuous situation in the northeastern state.
Shyamkumar Ayekpak, a resident of Imphal valley, said people were struggling to buy essential items.
They have been already battered by the violence and the total curfew has now compounded their miseries, he said.
"Nothing is readily available. As the petrol pumps are closed, people, who require petrol for emergency services including taking patients to a hospital, are forced to buy it at Rs 250 a litre from the black market," Ayekpak said.
Saroj Singh, another resident, said the prices of most rice varieties have risen by 50 per cent.
"As shops are closed, people are not getting anything. They have been forced to buy the essential items from the black market," Singh said.
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"Families holding marriages are at the receiving end due to the rising prices of every item," he added.
Subir Das, from Assam, who is serving as the manager of a hotel in Imphal, said the price of every single item has increased substantially.
"One plate of broiler egg now costs between Rs 260 and Rs 300. Before the violence, it was sold at Rs 200. The price of broiler chicken (whole) has increased from Rs 200 per kg to Rs 300 per kg. Potato was Rs 20 per kg. It is now Rs 40 per kg. Similarly, the price of onion has gone up from Rs 30 per kg to Rs 50-60 per kg. Even vegetables have become costly," Das said.
There is no curfew in the Naga Hills but the prices of essential items have shot up there too.
"The price of every essential commodity has increased by 10-20 per cent in our Ukhrul district," said Mangang Raman, a Naga leader.
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