PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/ Uttarkashi
The rising prices of vegetables and fruits in the city’s markets are affecting the ordinary consumers nowadays. Locals allege that with the rate lists not being displayed, the vendors are charging the buyers exorbitantly. “While they are freely overcharging, the department, which is entrusted with the responsibility of keeping the prices under control, seems to be sleeping,” a consumer said.
They further allege that the same vegetable is being sold at different prices at different shops, leaving them puzzled.
Tomatoes are being sold in the market for Rs 80 to Rs 120 per kilogramme, cucumbers for Rs 40 to Rs 60 per kilogramme, papayas for Rs100 per kilogramme, mangoes for Rs 150 per kilogramme, apples for Rs 250 per kilogramme, bananas for Rs 80 a dozen and oranges for up to Rs 250 per kilogramme.
Venting annoyance over the spiralling vegetable and fruit prices, local resident Vijendra Pokhriyal said that while it is mandatory for all vegetable and fruit vendors to display their price lists, they are disregarding it and raising prices on their whims and exploiting them. “The administration should conduct regular inspections of the market, ensure that price lists are clearly displayed at every shop, and take strict action against shopkeepers who charge more than the prescribed rates,” he said.
They say that if the administration does not step in and control prices and also monitor things in the market, the burden of inflation on ordinary people will only mount.
