Rising prices hard to digest City Pulse

Prices of essential commodities have undoubtedly risen. No matter how much you cut down on your expenses, the current prices of these commodities are bound to rise owing to the festive season which starts in a fortnight.

“What good is it when prices are hiked so much? What are we supposed to eat,” questions Sai Latha, a home maker, who was purchasing her monthly provisions at Monda Market. Despite searching for affordable prices for her provisions, she could not accommodate all commodities in her limited budget.

Even the government hiked prices of red gram supplied through its fair price shops from Rs. 30 per kg to Rs. 45 a kg for a white card holder.

Taking a cue from the government’s action, retailers have increased the prices of pulses even further.

Perhaps these situations are one of the many visages of price rise. Shopping bags of these miffed middle-class shoppers may be a little lighter, but shoppers still go in search for good offers right from supermarkets to neighbourhood kirana stores.

While city dwellers are apprehensive about the increase in prices, traders predict that prices of pulses would increase further, owing to the ‘Shravana Maasam’ which will set in shortly. Sugar and Bengal Gram are the most preferred ones during Ramzan and Ganesh festival. There is a lot of demand for these items as they are used to prepare a lot of sweets and savouries, says Madhusudan, a shopkeeper at Secunderabad.

If you thought this was the case only with rice, pulses and vegetables, there is no respite from sky rocketing prices of chicken, eggs and tea powder. A kilogram of chicken now costs Rs. 120 per kg and mutton is priced at Rs. 240 per kg. With this, even hoteliers who serve meals have increased their prices drastically while prices of non-vegetarian food items have also been hiked.

For tea lovers, a cup of ‘Irani chai’ now costs Rs. 6 as against Rs. 4 sold at tea stalls in the city a fortnight ago. “A breakfast of tea and two Osmania biscuits cost Rs. 10. But with the new prices, it would be difficult to afford to drink tea at frequently,” lamented Ghouseuddin, an auto driver.

“Even as city dwellers are worried about the price rise, suppliers and traders on the other hand are hoarding essential commodities to create artificial crisis. It is time for the Government authorities to instigate action against such suppliers and bring in relief from the increase in prices,” said Twin Cities Fair Price Dealers Association Secretary, S. Venkatramana Gupta.