Vegetable prices soar in flood-affected Punjab districts

Ruchika M Khanna

Chandigarh, July 14

Tomatoes are selling at Rs 200-Rs 300 a kg and cauliflower at Rs 150 a kg in most flood-ravaged districts of Punjab. As people come to terms with the damage caused by the floods, they are now grappling with the spiralling prices of vegetables.

In the flood-hit districts of Ropar, Mohali, Patiala and Jalandhar, the prices of almost all vegetables have nearly doubled in a week.

Ranjit Singh, a wholesaler in Patiala, said they were themselves getting vegetables at very high rates from traders in Rajpura. “Our profit margins remain the same, after we have paid 30-40 per cent higher prices to our suppliers since the floods. As the supply improves and water recedes, we are hopeful that rates will come back to the pre-flood days,” he said.

Rustam Singh of Nabha claimed that though the town had been spared of floods, the price of no vegetable, other than potato, was less than Rs 70 a kg. Surprisingly, other than in Ropar, the district authorities have not imposed restrictions on this profiteering by traders.

Ropar DC Preeti Yadav has enforced provisions under the Essential Commodities Act to ensure that no one artificially escalated the prices for vegetables. “We were receiving complaints of inflated vegetable prices. We have told traders that they cannot sell essential items at such huge profit margins,” she said.

Chief Secretary Anurag Verma said he had instructed the Food and Supply Department to keep check on hoarding and profiteering.