Follow Us
Rifat Mohidin
Tribune News Service
Srinagar, August 25
As chaos after the abrogation of Article 370 refuses to die down in the Valley, the prices of vegetables have gone up. The price of onions has gone up from Rs 25 to Rs 40. The prices of beans, carrots and radish have also soared with residents blaming the authorities for not bothering to check the rates.
The price of all vegetables have gone up by almost Rs 10 to 15 compared to their prices before the abrogation.
“This is what we are getting from suppliers and that’s why we are selling it at this rate. We have not increased anything. Similar rates can be found in the entire market,” said a vendor at Lal Mandi in Srinagar.
Locally grown fresh vegetables and fruits are available in abundance in the Valley due to which earlier prices used to dip in the markets at this time of the year. However, sellers blamed the restrictions and suspension of communication as reason for low supplies reaching from villages to city due to which prices have soared.
“These people know that when everything is shut in Kashmir, residents are forced to buy from a few shops that are open and that’s why they are exploiting the situation,” said Zahoor Ahmad, a resident in Srinagar.
Markets in Kashmir continue to be shut from August 5 when tension erupted in the Valley as curfew was imposed and a blanket ban was put on all channels of communication. However, to facilitate people to buy essentials, markets in the city open in early morning hours and late evenings. But despite relaxations, most of the markets remains closed during the day.
“There is no one to check the price rise. The prices of chicken and eggs have also gone up,” said Zubair Ahmad, a local.
Many shopkeepers claimed that essential supplies were not reaching them at the normal pace due to which they were short of some supplies.
2
4
6