Hyderabad: Residents of the city are paying through their nose for their daily dose of veggies, courtesy the heavy downpours that affected the supply of vegetables in the city.
Onions are being sold at anywhere between Rs 80-90 per kilo at the open markets. Even the agriculture department's own rythu bazaar is selling it for Rs 45 per kilo.
Experts like G.V. Ramanjaneyulu, centre for sustainable agriculture, say that the rain has hit areas which are major suppliers of vegetables to the city. “Most vegetables come from Bengaluru, Chittoor, Mulugu, Medchal, Ibra-himpatnam and Moina-bad. These areas have received a lot of unseasonal rains which destroyed the vegetable crop,” he said.
The price rise has gone to such an extent that officials of the agricultural marketing de-partment concur that it is happening due to the lack of supply of vegetables to the farmers’ markets.
“There has been a marginal increase in the prices of vegetables when compared to last week. This is due to sudden heavy rain that hindered supply to the city's markets,” said an official of the department, requesting anonymity.
While there has been a decreased supply of vegetables to Hyderabad, farmers are trying to make the best of the situation and are selling vegetables at a higher price.
“Due to the torrential rains lashing various parts of the state, there has been a sudden hike in prices, but we are taking measures to ensure that the prices are brought under control,” G. Lakshmi Bai, director of agricultural marketing told Deccan Chronicle. “Arrivals to the city's agrarian markets are increasing day by day and we are expecting sufficient arrivals in couple of days to meet the city’s need,” she added While that is the case, farmers allege that the middle-men are cashing in on the unprecedented rains, and are charging higher than usual prices.
