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| Breads may soon go off breakfast table in Jammu | | | Early Times Report
Jammu, Nov 8: Close to the heels of bread vanishing from breakfast tables in Srinagar and other parts of Kashmir Valley, people in Jammu may soon have to switch over to homemade paranth or roti as bakers here have warned to go on strike if prices were not reviewed.
The representatives of association of bakers in Jammu have said that they will join strike with their counterparts in Kashmir if prices of bakery items were not reviewed immediately. Bakers in Kashmir have already gone on strike from today saying that prices of raw material, services and labour have almost doubled in last three years but there has not been any corresponding hike in the prices of bakery items which making the business hard in these troubled times.
The department of Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution was almost caught unaware of the situation. Minister of State for Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution Shabir Ahmed Khan said that the government will look into the matter with immediate concern as he called upon the bakers in Kashmir to call off the strike to avoid further inconvenience to the public.
Director of CA & PD, Jammu, Hemant Kumar Sharma told Early Times that Jammu bakers have never brought the issue to the notice of his department and it can be viewed only when a representation is made. He admitted sharp rise in prices of raw materials used for the bakery items but said that Jammu bakers never raised this issue with the department.
According Pankaj Jain, a representative of the bakers, the prices of the raw material and services have almost doubled since 2006 when the prices of bakery were last reviewed. Price of maida (baking flour) has gone up from Rs 1200 per quintal to Rs 1900 per quintal, sugar prices have shot up from Rs 24 per kilogram in 2006 to Rs 42 per kg now, diesel prices have gone up from Rs 24 to Rs 35 per liter and the manpower wages have gone up from Rs 1800 per month to around Rs 3300 per month in last three years.
The bakers are arguing that since all raw material prices have gone up almost double in last three years, they are selling the bakery items at the same prices which were fixed up in 2006. Director CA&PD Hemant Kumar said that a rational view will be taken once a representation in this regard is made to the department.
While Jammu bakers have only warned of a strike, in Kashmir the bakery has already gone off the breakfast table. People had their breakfast without bread in the Kashmir Valley as bakers went on an indefinite strike, demanding increase in the price besides subsidy on ingredients.
More than 30,000 workers of bakery shops (known as kandur in Kashmiri) across the Valley went on indefinite strike this morning, protesting against the authorities. People in the Valley, particularly in Srinagar city and its outskirts, had their breakfast without the Kashmiri roti. "We had only 'nakeem tea' in the morning today as all bakery shops in our area were closed," said Batmaloo resident Abdul Hamid.
The flour is not available in the market for the past two weeks, and some shopkeepers are selling flour on very high rate to selected customers only.
Earlier, the bakers had gone on a day-long strike on November 5, demanding increase in the prices of Kashmiri roti in view of increase in the prices of flour and other ingredients. However, the next day some of the bakery shops resumed their work after increasing the cost of roti.
While the cost of a roti after an increase of 50 per cent in uptown, including Natipora, was Rs 3, in downtown, including Rainawari, it was being sold at Rs 4, an increase of 100 per cent.
The bakers across the Valley resumed their work after the government sought ten days time to resolve the issue. But, the bakers association alleged that yesterday the officials of Consumer Affair and Public Distribution (CA&PD) raided several bakery shops in Kashmir and fined them without any justification. They decided not to resume their work until the new prices are fixed by the government.
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