Agra, Sep 1 (Inditop.com) Rising prices of essential items seem to be taking their toll on the common man here. First it were the pulses and now it is the king of vegetables – potatoes – that is burning a hole in the pocket of the consumers.
The price of potatoes has more than doubled to Rs.25 per kg this year compared to Rs.10 last year. This has hit the common man badly in Agra.
“With price of pulses shooting up, potato alone was the hope to balance the family budget. But this year potatoes have been unkind as well. Better qualities of Haldwani and Pahari potatoes are selling for Rs.25 a kilo while the local varieties are available at Rs.15 as against last year’s Rs.8 per kg,” said Sudhir Gupta, spokesperson of the local citizens’ welfare association.
He said the rise in prices has affected the population of both urban and rural areas.
“Potatoes are an essential component of a vegetarian diet and our children eat nothing but potatoes in various forms. The rise in prices is turning our budget upside down,” said Padmini, a housewife in posh Kamla Nagar colony here.
She feels the state government should have directed the cold storages to release stocks in the interest of the common man.
However, Cold Storage Owners Association president Sudershan Singhal said: “Farmers don’t appear interested in bringing their stocks to the markets… as they need substantial quantities as seeds for the next season which should see an increase in the acreage under the potato crop.”
Echoing the same sentiment, a wholesale potato seller of Belanganj subzi mandi Khajroo Mal said: “The supply presently is short… the last crop was not so good. Potato cultivators do not seem to be in any hurry to release their stocks, maybe their holding capacity has increased which has led to the rise in prices.”
But organisations of potato cultivators allege that the middlemen are reaping the benefits of the increased prices. “In the past one week alone, the potato prices have gone up by three to four rupees. Middlemen are reaping the benefit of the increased prices and not the farmers,” an official said.
Ravi, a farmer of the Barauli Ahir block in Khandauli here, said: “The yield is the highest and the quality of Khandauli aloo, also called Taj Aloo, is recognised as the best in the country.” Khandauli area produces roughly 10 percent of the country’s total potato output of 25 million tonnes.
“The price rise is due to a combination of factors. Firstly, all vegetables are expensive these days, then the bigger sharks are hoarding and the cold storages are also helping them at the cost of the consumer,” he said.
