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| Fixing vegetables rates impractical | | | | The callous attitude and apathy on the part of authorities over the problems being faced by the common people in Jammu city in the wake of strike going on for last 4 days by the dealers in vegetables and fruits, is regrettable. The vegetable and fruit Mandi at Narwal as well as the vegetable market near Moti Bazar is closed for last 4 days in protest against the action by the concerned authorities to enforce fixed rates on which the vegetables and fruit are to be sold by the wholesale dealers and in turn by the retailers. The authorities acted belatedly in the matter, when the prices of vegetables were totally unaffordable and exorbitantly high with the consumers making hue and cry, the rate regulating authorities did not come into action. And when after much hue and cry by the consumers, the authorities came to action and fixed the rates of vegetables and some fruit items, by the time the local crop of vegetables and some fruit had come in the market and rates automatically came down even below the ones fixed by the authorities. After this there was hardly any justification for re-fixing the rates, since the supply of vegetables in the market at present is abundant and keeping with the economic law of supply and demand governing the prices, the rates have come down reasonably. With more and more of locally produced vegetables coming to the market, the rates are all going to further fall. Vegetables and most of the items of fruit are highly perishable. These cannot be stored and hoarded by the stockists for creating artificial scarcity to earn extra profit. The rates of vegetables in particular vary from day to day in keeping with the stock coming to the market for sale and even from hour to hour. In the morning when fresh vegetables come for sale, the rate is comparatively little higher, while at noon the rate gets little cheaper and by the evening the vendors are keen to dispose off the whole stock even by selling the same at a throw away price, since keeping the unsold stocks over the night will perish the commodity. Similarly there can be hardly any gradation of the vegetables. The very fresh and best quality of vegetables is sold at little higher rates, which goes on being reduced with the standard of the item decreasing. In the light of these facts there is hardly any need for fixing the rates of vegetables, unless their rates go exorbitantly high and become unaffordable for a common man. Instead the authorities should concentrate on fixing the rates of other essential items of daily use like wheat flour, rice, edible oils, pulses, sugar, tea and coffee. The enforcement of fix rates of these items is highly desirable. The rates of these items are sky rocketing, but there is no move and step taken to bring these down to a reasonable level. Although the rates of these items have gone high all over, yet the local hoarders play some part by artificially creating the scarcity of these items which can be stored in their godowns for a long time, in order to earn extra profit. Instead of wasting energy and time on enforcing the fixed rates of vegetables and perishable fruit and taking uncalled for action of harassment to the dealers in these items, attention should be paid and steps taken to bring down the prices of other essential items of daily use as mentioned above. |
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