Their prices unlikely to come down before the festival of Diwali
Wednesday 20th October, 2021 | PNS | Dehradun
The prices of tomatoes and onions which have become out of reach of the poor are unlikely to drop before Diwali in Dehradun owing to the incessant rainfall in Uttarakhand for the last three days that severely damaged the crops. In the past two weeks, the prices of these highly consumed vegetables have skyrocketed in wholesale markets and the local shops. While the price of onion has gone up from Rs 20 to Rs 60 per kilogramme this week, the tomatoes are being sold between the ranges of Rs 60 to Rs 100 per kg by local vendors in Dehradun which were earlier being sold for Rs 25 to Rs 30 per kg. It was being said that the rates would return to normal this week once the supply of these vegetables will resume from mountainous areas but the recent incessant rainfall has damaged crops in various parts of the state.
The secretary of Niranjanpur Mandi Samiti Vijay Thapliyal said, “The prices of tomatoes and onions increased due to unseasonal rainfall in the major producing centres like Nashik and Bangalore and the supply from mountain areas in Uttarakhand has also hit due to monsoon. We had expected to get sufficient supply locally as well as from other states from this week which would have potentially brought the rates of tomatoes and onions to normal. However, it is very unlikely to happen this month as the crops have been severely damaged in mountainous areas due to rainfall.” He asserted that the condition in the tomatoes and onions supplying cities of other states is better and the cost will possibly lower in the local market here too but still, the rates are unlikely to return to normal before Diwali.
