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| On the prices front | | | | The rates of vegetables and fruits fixed by the department for Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution have favoured the sellers rather than the buyers of the same, for whom the exercise is claimed to have been taken in hand. When the prices of vegetables were at their pinnacle, which the common consumers could hardly afford, the authorities remained complacent and did not move to come to the rescue of the consumers. They took a pretty long time to come to action and fix the maximum retail rates of vegetables and fruits. Then the rates first fixed by the authorities were upward revised under pressure from the merchants and brokers in the wholesale vegetable markets. In the meanwhile local crops of vegetable came into the market for sale, with the rates of the same obviously coming down. But despite their availability at prices lower than the maximum rates fixed by the authorities, some vendors are insisting on charging the maximum rates fixed. For instance the actual price of radish has come down to Rs 8 per kg in retail, that of cucumber also at Rs 8 and guard at Rs 10 a kg, the rates at which some vendors are selling the same. But some unscrupulous vendors taking advantage of the maximum rates of these items fixed at higher level are insisting on charging the same. On the other hand they are selling some vegetables which are still not common in the market, at the rates higher than the maximum rates fixed for the same. There is no monitoring by the agencies who have fixed the rates to find whether the rates fixed by them are being actually honoured by the sellers or not. The rates of vegetable are fast fluctuating, keeping with the quantum of their availability. But these have always a sellers market, with consumers having no control or no means to influence the same, since the demand for the same is always almost at the same level. Now when many locally produced vegetables have come to the market, the authorities should either revise their rates downward or withdraw their maximum sale prices notified by them. The rate fixed by them about a fortnight ago are only going to the disadvantage of the consumers rather than providing them any relief. As far other necessary items of daily consumption by the households like wheat atta, rice, sugar, edible oil and tea etc the rates of the same instead of falling as claimed by the authorities in view of some measures taken by them, have actually short up marginally during the last fortnight. The government is either lacking the apparatus to monitor the prices of these commodities or lacks the will to enforce the same and is not prepared to annoy the traders. |
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