KOLKATA: With a slash in diesel prices, trains operating and winter vegetables entering the market, prices of vegetables have started to come down. Rates of vegetables like ladies finger, long beans, tomato and green peas have started to come down slowly and is expected to decrease further after the Puja.
“Prices of some fruits and vegetables, though, are on the higher side because of Chhath. But overall, prices have started to dip. Prices of fruits will certainly come down in a day or two,” said Subol Saha, a trader in Lake Market.
Rates of bottle gourd and brinjal, two essential vegetables used for offering as well as for cooking during Chhath, though remained high.
Prices of fruits which are essential for Chhath offerings have surged to a new high in Kolkata and its fringes with devotees feeling the typical squeeze on their wallets a day before the offering. From raw coconut to bananas and bottle gourd to brinjal, prices of all the essential necessities of the festival have remained high.
“We had expected the price of veggies and fruits to go down because of the reduction in diesel prices ahead of the Puja. But sadly that didn’t happen. Coconut, which generally costs around Rs 40 a piece even during festive seasons is selling at anything between Rs 60-Rs 70,” said Rajesh Prasad, a taxi driver and Chhath devotee.
Fruits were the biggest casualties as a stack of bananas — again one of the major items used for Puja offering in the festival — sold at Rs 450 which used to cost less than Rs 250 last year. Sugarcane sticks that used to sell for Rs 10 now cost Rs 25 a piece and pomelos sold at anything between Rs 45 -50, more than double its usual price.
“Vendors blame diesel price behind abnormal price-rise. This time diesel price has reduced by more than Rs 11 in our state but it is yet to have the corresponding impact,” said Shankar Singh, a trader from Tollygunge. Some traders, though, are hopeful that the market will stabilise in a couple of days.
