[1]Hyderabad: The city is facing a severe shortage of vegetables as supplies have been badly hit, thanks to the United Andhra agitation raging through the entire Seemandhra region.
Protesters have blocked all roads and highways in Seemandhra region against the proposed bifurcation of the state. The agitation began on July 31, severely affecting the supplies of food and vegetables to the city.
Supplies from Guntur, Kurnool, Anantapur and Chittoor have declined sharply leading to a severe shortage of vegetables in Hyderabad and its surrounding areas.
According to the officials of the marketing department, the 10 Rythu Bazaars located in the city, normally receives over 8,000 quintals of vegetables every day. The supplies have now declined to less than 4,000 quintals. Same is the case with the Gudimalkapur, Bowenpally and LB Nagar wholesale markets.
No wonder, the vegetable prices have hit the roof. The price of green chillis has shot up to Rs 109 per kg. Prices of onions and tomatoes too are spiralling. Rice supplies from Seemandhra region also took a beating leading to escalation of prices. Traders say if the supplies remain affected for a few more days the price of most vegetables will touch Rs 100 per kg.
The impact of Seemandhra agitation on vegetable prices can be gauged from the fact that the green chilli increased by Rs 30 per kg in a single day. The price of green chilli in Mehdipatnam Rythu Bazaar has increased from Rs 50 to Rs 80 on Friday. In Gaddi Annaram market, price of green chilli increased from Rs 75 to Rs 110 per kg.
The impact of the ongoing agitation is also being felt on the vegetable supplies from neighbouring states. City market receives daily supplies of cabbage, beans and carrot from Bengaluru. The supplies have now been badly hit with agitators blocking the Bengaluru highway in Rayalaseema districts, which has led to a severe shortage of vegetables and subsequent rise in prices.
Links:
[1] http://archive.asianage.com/vegetables21jpg-306