Two more fair-price veggie shops set up, city now has 54

With the addition of two more fair-price vegetable shops on Monday, Maharashtra achieved half its target of state supported centres that it plans to set up.

With the addition of two more fair-price vegetable shops on Monday, the state achieved half its target of statesupported centres that it plans to set up.

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The total number of centres has now reached 54.

In an attempt to check the spiralling prices, the state government had decided to set up 106 such fair-price centres, where vegetables would be sold at wholesale price.

The 24 centres that have been set up and are operated by the state received 1,400 kg of vegetables on Monday. The other centres, that are operated by supermarkets.

“We have reached half of our target of fair-price shops. A few more retail stores are also expected to join this week and hence we expect to reach our target at the earliest,” said a senior official from the department of agriculture.

However, this has hardly affected the prices of vegetables in the open market and localities that do not have these fair-price centres continue to face skyrocketing vegetable prices.

Experts meanwhile claimed that with arrival of the new crop, they hoped that prices would fall.

Although April-May-June are not suitable to grow vegetables because of water scarcity, the rain usually causes more vegetables to enter the market and prices to drop. However, this year despite prices have good rainfall, refused to fall.

Presently, Maharashtra gets most of its supply of vegetables from Pune, Satara, Sangli Nashik, Bhusawal and Vidarbha

“The downward trend in prices of vegetables has already started with vegetables such as methi, ginger and green peas becoming cheaper than before,” added the official.