The Hindu : Kerala News : Price rise makes life difficult for all in Kasaragod

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Friday, Apr 25, 2008
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Kerala

Price rise makes life difficult for all in Kasaragod

A. Harikumar

People curtail needs as restaurant and grocery bills head north

KASARAGOD: Chandrasekharan, a government employee here, used to have at least five cups of tea a day till he halved his daily quota recently. In the past one month, the lowest cost of a cup of tea in eateries in the town rose to Rs. 4 from Rs. 3.

“I could not afford to incur an additional expenditure of Rs. 5 a day on tea alone,” Mr. Chandrasekharan says.

Similar is the case of a large number of middle-class residents in the town. They are just bewildered by the spiralling prices and are forced to minimise their needs. Those from other districts in the State who stay in lodges and work here are seriously hit as the food prices in restaurants have increased steeply. Almost all of these outlets in the town have increased the price of a simple rice meal by Rs. 2 to Rs. 17 and more. Most hotels here charge more for a second helping of rice.

The restaurant owners say they had no way other than increasing the rates, as the prices of essential commodities such as foodgrains, pulses, milk and oil have increased considerably in the past one month.

While the price of milk increased by Rs. 2 for half a litre, the price of rice rose from around Rs. 12 a kg around five months ago to more than Rs. 18 in the open market, they say. The prices of vegetables and pulses have risen in the market by 20-40 per cent.

They point out that the rise in the price of rice is the basic reason for the high prices of food items in restaurants.

The rise in price of essential commodities has landed the ordinary citizen in deep trouble, says Sreekumar, a resident of Neeleswaram in the southern part of the district. He points out that the price of the commonly used Kuruva rice has risen to Rs. 18.50 a kg in the open market. Carrot costs Rs. 20 a kg or more and potato Rs. 16 a kg. The price of onion is Rs. 18 or more, beans Rs. 22 and green gram Rs. 30. Mr. Sreekumar says except for those of a few types of locally cultivated vegetables, the prices of a majority of items have risen by 30 per cent in the market on an average. The price of commonly used banana has sharply increased here.

Ramachandran, a resident of Poinachy, which lies along Kasaragod-Kanhangad highway stretch, says that the price of rice had increased by up to Rs. 5 a kg during the last four months. The rise in price of pulses and vegetables have heightened the sufferings of the common man, he notes.

Many consumers note that prices differ for commodities of the same quality in various shops. They doubt that some of the merchants may be using the situation to exploit the consumers. Similarly, it is found that the prices of several commodities sharply vary at places less than 30 km apart.

The outlets of the Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation (Supplyco) in the district, including Maveli stores, Labham supermarkets and People’s Bazaar, have been able to sell essential commodities at prices considerably lower than the market prices. At the bazaar of the Supplyco on the new bus stand premises in Kasaragod town, the consumer is given 5 kg of rice at Rs. 70. Vegetables are sold at prices 10-20 per cent lower than those in the open market. The prices of several types of pulses are on an average 30 per cent less. The manager of the Supplyco’s market told The Hindu that a large number of people were benefiting from the low prices and wanted more of them to utilise the facility.

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