Kerala - Kochi   

Spiralling prices throw life out of gear

KOCHI: “I have to work throughout the week these days to make ends meet. If I am unable to work even for two days because of illness, then my family will starve.”

For the likes of Mohandas, an autorickshaw driver at Panampilly Nagar stand, life has been a struggle ever since the prices of essential commodities skyrocketed.

“Today I have to earn at least Rs.300 a day to live in this city. And that is barely enough to meet the daily expenses. Savings is just out of question,” he says. He also puts in additional hours of work these days to earn those extra bucks.

Life would have been a lot harder if Supplyco has not provided groceries and vegetables at prices less than the open-market price, he says.

“When I go to my wife’s place in Idukki, I buy vegetables, which are much cheaper there,” Mohandas says.

Piling up his misery is the traffic blocks in the city. “Cost on diesel per trip has increased steeply because of the traffic. This has also reduced the number of trips during daytime,” he says.

The proliferation of autorickshaws creates further hardships. “Even the wealthy buy autos and give them out on rent because of which the income gets divided,” Mohandas said.

“Payment at the grocery shop has increased from Rs.1,000 to Rs.2,000. Going by that my salary of Rs.3,000 would also have to be doubled,” Vimal, who works as a salesman at a private shop at Edappally, says. He is now on the search for a better-paid job. Vimal, who is also doing his final year B.Com, has also cut down on the number of movies. “That we don’t have any debts to clear is a relief. But how will those families with huge debts survive price rise,” he wondered.

Rajesh Vennala, who runs a private tutorial, is set to hike fees in the coming academic year. “The rent of the building and payment of the teaching staff have gone up. The cost of printing a simple notice to advertise has also increased. I have no other option but to hike the fee,” he says.

Daniel, a papad vendor from Vaduthala, says that price rise has drastically cut down his sales margin. “Being a common man’s item I cannot afford to increase the price as it would affect sales,” he avers. He is trying to find areas for cutting cost even as searching for new customers. Vinu, a plumber from Edappally, works more these days. “Earning Rs.400 a day was good enough in the past. Now, I have to earn Rs.700-750 a day,” he says. He says that groceries and vegetables cannot be cut down beyond a limit. “The only way is to find additional work which earns more,” a thoughtful Vinu says.

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