The incessant rainfall which has damaged production of vegetables and have blocked transportation has led to skyrocketing price of the vegetables. Nainital district which is known for being the major source of vegetables too is in a state of crisis.
Rameshwar Pandey, a farmer in Bhimtal near Nainital said, “The rainfall has hit most of our tomato production. As tomatoes can hardly survive for a day or two, about 80% of the production is wasted. Landslides are adding to our woes which is making transportation difficult.” “The price of vegetables soar during the monsoons. Especially there is a huge difference between the demand and supply of tomatoes. The state cannot meet the demands of the market due to heavy rainfall and even the new stocks coming from Haryana and Punjab hasn’t yet reached,” said VBS Dev, secretary Haldwani Mandi Smiti.
Haldwani is one of the key vegetable markets (Mandi) in Kumaon region. According to the Mandi rates, tomatoes are sold at a wholesale price of R 50 per kg which doubles in the local market. The current rate of tomatoes is Rs 90-120 kg across state making the vegetable go off the menu in a fortnight. The prices of onion has also shot up from Rs 10 per kg in local market to R 40 per kg. The backbone of every dish, high onion prices has left homemakers worried.
Whether aubergine or bottle gourd or even lady’s finger, these common vegetables too are sold for Rs 50 per kilo or more. Some vegetables found exclusively in the hilly regions like fiddlehead fern commonly known as lingad and snake gourd or chichinda are available at R 100 per kilo. Cauliflower and cabbage, which are off season vegetable are available at R 120 per kg.
{{/usCountry}}Whether aubergine or bottle gourd or even lady’s finger, these common vegetables too are sold for Rs 50 per kilo or more. Some vegetables found exclusively in the hilly regions like fiddlehead fern commonly known as lingad and snake gourd or chichinda are available at R 100 per kilo. Cauliflower and cabbage, which are off season vegetable are available at R 120 per kg.
{{/usCountry}}Sujata Paliwal, a resident of Race Course said, “Every vegetable is expensive in the market. The dependency of people on them increase due to ‘Sawan’ when we cannot eat non-veg.”