The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Novel protest against spiralling prices

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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Novel protest against spiralling prices

Staff Reporter

AIDWA, DYFI suggest alternative measures for correction

— PHOTO: R.V.S. PRASAD

Hard times: An aged woman helping her kin have the gruel at the AIDWA protest camp against price rise in Anantapur on Thursday.

ANANTAPUR: Activists of the All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) and Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) staged a novel protest against spiralling prices of essential commodities in front of the Tehsildar’s office here on Thursday by having gruel.

District secretary of AIDWA V. Savitri and CPI (M) corporator P. Prasoona alleged that the State and Central governments were acting as mute spectators to the abnormal hike prices of essential commodities, spiralling beyond anybody’s imagination.

The poor and middle class families were struggling hard to cope with the additional burden.

Abnormal hike in prices was keeping nutritious food away from the poor and children and pregnant women were suffering from malnutrition in the wake of commodities going beyond the reach of their families.

The middle class families were also limiting their diet.

District president of DYFI T. Sunkanna said large scale unemployment and the increasing competition for limited opportunities in such unorganised sectors they were forced to work for lower wages and the price hike was straining their income very badly.

The government must increase procurement of food grains to provide relief to the people from the price rise by making the commodities available through the public distribution system, he felt. But, the governments were biding time with mere statements, he alleged.

The Rs. 2-a-kg rice, edible oil and red gram dal were all being supplied in insufficient quantities to the poor.

Activists of the two organisation and their family members had gruel at the protest camp as mark of protest against the price rise.

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