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Vegetables too hot by Anand Raj and Roshan Kumar

Residents of the state capital, who had planned to binge on non-vegetarian food after Sawaan, will have to go slow because of an increase in the price of onions, a common ingredient in meat and fish dishes.

Ironically, vegetarian dishes, too, will cost more as the prices of greens have also shot north.

Though you and I have to shell out more, there has been only a marginal increase in the wholesale prices of onions. Other vegetables are also easily available but their prices have maintained a steady increase.

Till three weeks ago, the price of onions was around Rs 9 or Rs 10 per kg. Now, it is between Rs 18 and Rs 22. As a result, consumers have to cut down on their consumption. Popular sponge gourds are priced at Rs 20 per kg at present. But only 15 days ago, you could buy them for no more than Rs 5 per kg. Pointed gourds are now priced at Rs 40 a kg, cauliflowers at Rs 40 apiece.

Shyama Sinha, a Kesri Nagar resident, said: “The price of onions has increased steadily over the past month. On July 30, I had bought onions for Rs 9. Now I have to pay Rs 20 per kg.”

The homemaker added: “If the prices continue to rise like this, we will have to cut down on our consumption of onions.”

Harinder Singh, a retailer at Rajiv Nagar, said the increase in the rate of onions in the wholesale market and the rains have contributed to the price rise. “The wholesalers have increased the price. So, the rates in the retail market have also gone up. The rainy season has also added to the problem. In this season, prices of all vegetables go up.”

Singh’s claim is refuted by the wholesalers, who assert that onion prices in the wholesale market have shot up only by 15 to 20 per cent.

“There has been a nominal increase of 15 to 20 per cent in the wholesale market price of vegetables. Good quality onions are being sold at Rs 1,400 per quintal and the average ones are priced at Rs 1,200. Around 20 days ago, onions were being sold between Rs 1,000 and Rs 1,200 per quintal,” Mohammed Rafique, a wholesale trader at Bazaar Samiti, told The Telegraph.

Asked about the reason for the steep rise in the retail market, Rafique said retailers had hiked the price though there was no shortfall of onions. “There is a stock of around 5,000 sacks of onions in the wholesale market. There is no shortage. One rake (120 trucks) of onions arrives everyday at Bazaar Samiti.”

Rafique added that the local administration should check the rise in price.

Sources said incessant rain and floods in north Bihar, particularly the diara region, had pushed up the prices of other vegetables.

“Villages like Sabalpur and Khursupur in Saran district, which are on the other side of river Ganga, supply much of the vegetables to the city. However, because of the increase in the water level, the supply has dried up,” said Mohan Mahato, a vegetable vendor at Mithapur.

As a result, the vegetables have to be obtained from outside the state. Cauliflower, cabbage and tomatoes are being supplied from Nashik in Maharashtra and brinjal is being brought from Jharkhand. Pointed gourds are coming in from Samastipur and sponge gourds from Barh.

The increased prices have forced many residents of the city to cut down on their consumption of veggies.

Boring Road resident Madhu Sinha said: “Just a month ago, we used to enjoy a varied vegetarian fare of a number of curries. Now, we have to be content with only one or two.”

Vegetable vendors, too, are facing the music as their sales have plummeted. They, however, warned that the prices were unlikely to go down soon.