Kurnool: While tomato prices have shown a downward trend in recent days, a distressing situation has emerged vis-a-vis daily essentials like red gram dal, greengram and blackgram. Their prices have gone up sharply. Essential groceries have become costly, creating difficulty for the households.
On Sunday, red gram dal was sold at Rs 160-200 per kilo. Green gram cost Rs 150-Rs 160 while blackgram was priced at 140-180 per kilo. Further, the price of red chillies has skyrocketed, reaching an exorbitant Rs 350-400 per kilo.
Three months ago, redgram was available at around Rs 100-110 per kilo. Branded red gram dal stocks are being retailed in popular chain stores at prices ranging from Rs 180-200, while some online e-commerce platforms like Amazon are charging over Rs 220.
A similar pattern is observed in the prices of black gram and green gram dal. Currently, blackgram is priced between Rs 140-180 per kilo, and greengram at Rs 150-160, Bengalgram at Rs 70-80.
The unaffordable prices of dry chillies, hovering around Rs 350-400 per kilo for the past six months, have worsened situation. While the government made efforts to supply red gram dal to ration cardholders through PDS, the quality and quantity of the stocks are less.
While edible oils like sunflower oil remain within the normal price range of Rs 110-130 per kilo, groundnut oil is priced at Rs 170-180 per litre and sesame oil hovers around Rs 300-350. Normal edible oils are giving some respite to the consumers.
Housewife K Ramalakshmi from the C-Camp area expressed her concern about the rising prices of pulses, which are crucial for children's protein needs.
Essentials like tamarind, dry chillies and pulses are unaffordable to the common man while chana dal is one of the few affordable options, she noted.
Wholesale trader SK Basheer from the old city area said the prices might stabilize once fresh stocks enter the market. Urukunda from Bellary Chowrasta area appealed to the government to intervene and provide essential commodities at subsidized prices, like the recent initiative with tomatoes through Rythu Bazars.
