Drought, rains push up prices
Prices of rice, pulses, vegetables and meats have risen by 40 per cent
By : L. Venkat Ram Reddy
Update: 2015-06-19 01:53 GMT
Hyderabad: Essential commodities could become pricier by 20 per cent in the next three months because of the widening demand-supply gap. Prices of rice, pulses, vegetables and meats have already risen by 40 per cent in the last three months as the TS government had failed to anticipate the shortage of essential commodities due to the poor monsoon, drought conditions, unseasonal rains and hailstorms during the Kharif and Rabi seasons last year.
The city depends on imports from nearby districts like Ranga Reddy, Medak, Nalgonda and Mahbubnagar and neighbouring states like AP, Karnataka and Maharashtra for vegetables and other essentials. Meanwhile, increase in fuel prices has led to increased transportation costs. Levying of entry tax on AP vehicles transporting vegetables by the TS government has also contributed to the price rise.
“Though price rise is a common phenomenon between summer and the rainy season every year, we have never witnessed such a steep rise. While the demand continues to remain on the higher side, the supplies have been dwindling due to decrease in the crop sowing area,” said D. Mahender, a wholesaler in Begum Bazaar.
“Though the rainy season has begun, fresh crops are expected only by September and we expect the prices to stabilise only then,” he added. “We are booking orders for essential commodities from other districts and states, they are assuring delivery on a full scale only in September. Whatever supplies we are presently getting will not be enough to bring down the prices,” said Ch. Mallesham, another trader.
No steps by state to curb price rise:
The Rs 400-crore Market Intervention Fund to contain prices launched by the Telangana government in its first Budget remains only on paper. There is no initiative from the government to provide essentials at subsidised rates at Rythu Bazaars, nor has it set up special counters for the purpose.
Though CM K. Chandrasekhar Rao had directed the civil supplies and marketing departments to coordinate and intervene to control prices, the concerned ministers — Mr Etela Rajender and Mr T. Harish Rao — are yet to hold a single meeting on prices.
The marketing department supplied subsidised tomatoes at Rythu Bazaars in April-May, but that too has mostly been stopped. Mr Harish Rao said, “The prices were under control till December but the situation worsened in summer due to poor supplies on account of drought. We will utilise the fund to control prices.”