PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE /Dehradun
Due to rise in sweet prices and concerns over adulteration, many are choosing homemade sweets instead of buying from shops in Dehradun in this festive season.
A local, Priya Rawat, who was found buying Rakhi for her siblings, said that she was not buying sweets from shops this year. “This is because I am aware of the Food Safety department raids with adulterated sweets found in some sweet shops. I no longer trust these shops as I used to. I am now more careful about my family’s health,” she said.
Defending the increased price of sweets, the Halwai Committee said that the sugar price had jumped to Rs 70 per kg this year from Rs 44 per kg in August 2025. “This marks a rise of nearly 59 per cent, which has directly affected the production cost of sweets,” said a Halwai Committee member.
Along with the spiralling sugar price, the price of Desi Ghee has increased from Rs 620 to Rs 720 per kilogramme while vanaspati ghee or Dalda has risen from Rs 140 to Rs 170 per kg. Milk prices have also increased from Rs 63 to Rs 68 per litre.
While rising prices of sweets are resulting in dwindling customers, the food safety checks have increased their concerns about the purity of the items to be purchased as part of the festivities.
In Haridwar, flies were reportedly found in Rasgullas during an inspection, while adulterated milk has also been detected. With such incidents coming to light, people are steering clear of the sweet shops while preparing festival sweets themselves.
Pooja Negi, a resident of Raipur, said that she had heard about adulteration in sweets. “So I opt for homemade Ladoos and Kheer for Rakshabandhan festivities,” she commented.
