The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Real estate boom makes vegetables scarce

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jun 27, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Real estate boom makes vegetables scarce

Staff Reporter

Due to appreciation in land value on the outskirts, there is a drop in the quantity of vegetables arriving in markets

HYDERABAD: There could be other-than-seasonal reasons for the spiralling vegetable prices though authorities maintain silence about any such possibilities. With the recent appreciation in the speculative value of land in the surrounding districts of Ranga Reddy and Medak, there is a notable drop in the quantity of vegetables arriving into the city markets.

Sources

“Previously, villages near Maheshwaram and Shamshabad were vegetable hubs of twin cities. Now, cultivation in these mandals is almost closed down. A few cultivators hanging on will soon let go as there is a severe labour shortage in these areas,” says Venkat Reddy, a farmer from Manasanapalli. Now Shadnagar is the nearest source of city’s vegetables, he says. The Rytu Bazaar at Erragadda, which sources its commodities from Ranga Reddy and parts of Medak districts, recorded a drop of 30 to 40 per cent in the quantity reaching the market, confirmed the Secretary of Gaddi Annaram Agricultural Market Committee Chairman S.Vijaya Bhaskar. Potato crop from Medak has stopped coming in, making places as far as Delhi and Uttar Pradesh indispensable for the same. Even inflow of vegetables like ribbed gourd, snake gourd, lady’s fingers, brinjal and carrot has come down due to meagre cultivation.

Reasons

However, he refused to comment on whether it is a direct result of booming real estate business. “Rise in prices of vegetables is a regular phenomenon during this period of the year. In fact, compared to last year the prices are a lot lesser,” he said and assured the downfall in prices within a month. He attributed the recent dearness of tomatoes to lesser crop and loss in transit. He attributed the rise in the prices of vegetables to another factor. “A less obvious reason is the direct procurement technique adopted by super markets and malls”.

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Andhra Pradesh