Aam Aadmi Party MP Raghav Chadha took a jibe at the Centre over the rising prices of tomatoes on Saturday. Taking to Twitter, Chadha attached a notice issued by McDonald's skipping tomatoes from their menu. He tweeted, “Even McDonald's can't afford tomatoes anymore. Be it in our homes or restaurants, with inflation spiraling out of control, the government has turned happy meals into sad meals.”
The retail prices of tomatoes touched ₹120 per kilogram in Delhi on Thursday. At the beginning of the year, it was rupees 22 per kg. In Chandigarh, the prices were at an all-time high. The vegetable cost ₹140 per kg.
Not just tomatoes, prices of other vegetables and spices also went up.
{{/usCountry}}Not just tomatoes, prices of other vegetables and spices also went up.
{{/usCountry}}According to vegetable vendors in Delhi, Lucknow, and Chandigarh, the retail price of ginger increased from about ₹100 a kilogram to ₹250 in a week. The price of brinjal rose from ₹40 to ₹100 per kilogram around the same time.
The rise in prices has also led to vegetable theft. At a shop in Telangana's Mahabubabad district, unidentified persons allegedly stole around 20 kg of tomatoes, a box of green chillies, and other vegetables weighing about 35 kg.
Speaking about the theft, the vegetable vendor Lakpathi told India Today that the miscreants arrived late at night and stole three boxes of tomatoes along with boxes of green chillies. “After I closed the shop on Wednesday evening, the miscreants came late at night and stole three boxes of tomatoes, weighing approximately 20 kilograms, along with boxes of green chillies from the shop. They have stolen all costly vegetable,” he said.
Meanwhile, the cost is likely to reduce in the next 10-12 days if rains do not play spoilsport. Speaking about the reduction in cost Harpreet Singh, a supervisor at Punjab Mandi Board in Chandigarh said, “We expect the prices to come down once fresh stocks from southern states start arriving.”