Patna residents rue rise in prices, traders blame short supply

PATNA: High prices of essential items continued to bother the residents on the 5th day of the nationwide lockdown due to Covid-19. Several shopowners said short supply of essential commodities was still a major concern, leading to price rise.
The lockdown has adversely impacted the movement of trucks and other vehicles used to transport essential commodities such as foodgrains, spices, vegetables, fruits, medicines and other goods.
Vishwajeet, a grocery shopowner on Boring Canal Road, said, “I have no control over the price. The demand of goods is high and the supply is low. We have increased the prices on pulses, flour and spices by 10% only, while the packaged food items were being sold at its original price. Even the supply in wholesale market is hit due to lockdown,” he said.
Kishan Kumar, a vegetable seller at Bazar Samiti, said onion prices increased by Rs15 to Rs45/kg. “Potato is selling at Rs48/kg, brinjal Rs40, ginger Rs210/kg, cabbage Rs60 and cauliflower at Rs100. Since the public transport has been stopped, we find it difficult to bring the vegetables to market place from the wholesale mandis,” he said.
“We have to bring all the vegetables on private cabs and they charge high rates. This forced us to increase the prices of vegetables,” Kishan added.
Sonu Kumar, a fruit seller at Sabzibagh, said the police personnel stopped our pickup van at several points and extorted money from the drivers. “We are forced to increase the rate of apples, oranges, grapes and bananas, as we pay extra money for transporting fruits,” he said.
Bihar Truck Owner’s Association’s president Bhanu Shekhar Prasad told this newspaper on Sunday that manufacturers, transporters, distributors, wholesalers or e-commerce companies are facing difficulties in transportation and distribution of goods.
Rising prices are also affecting the kitchen budget during the ongoing lockdown period.
Garima Singh, a homemaker from Rajendra Path area, said, “We are forced to cut down on meal as the prices of essential items are getting higher. We have prepared a diet chart so that we can eat more proteins and carbohydrates in meals.”
Archana Gupta of Bank Road area said the unscrupulous shopkeepers were minting money in this situation in the name of shortage of essential goods. “The rate of 5kg of packed ground flour has increased to Rs300 from Rs180. These grocery shops are openly looting people even though the government assured that the supply of essential goods would not get affected,” said Anand Prakash of Rajiv Nagar.