DHENKANAL: At a time when the entire State is reeling under the rising price of ‘dal,’ there seems to be no price pinch for the people of Dhenkanal. Here, the local vendors have been instrumental in providing their share of pulses at rates much below the market price.
Every morning, vendors bring different varieties of pulses like ‘arhar,’ ‘moong’ and ‘kandula’ on bicycles to the doorsteps of the people and sell them at Rs 50 to Rs 100 per kg. The vendors say they procure the ‘dal’ from KBK region and Raipur in Chhattisgarh. “I sell 70 kg of ‘dal’ everyday at Rs 60 to Rs 100 per kg. ‘Arhar’ costs the highest at Rs 100 per kg,” says Radheshyam Prusty, a vendor from Madhusapatna village, who comes to Dhenkanal daily for selling ‘dal.’
On the contrary, the price of 1 kg of ‘arhar dal’ in Dhenkanal market is between Rs 160 and Rs 180 per kg while, that of ‘moong’ is Rs 120 a kg.
At the ongoing Pallishree Mela, being hosted by the district administration, many SHGs are also selling different varieties of ‘dal’ much below the market rate. Here, ‘kandula dal,’ grown mostly in Southern Odisha pockets and ‘kolatha dal’ varieties are selling the most.
In fact, local eateries and hotels are also procuring ‘dal’ from SHGs in the Pallishree Mela.