Vegetables like tomatoes, drumsticks (sajne data), capsicum and beans have reached a price that is quite affordable for the middle class consumers. “I used to buy 1 kg of tomatoes every other day. Now I buy 500 grams a week,” said Anirban Ghatak, a state government employee who lives here Parnashree. Vegetables for everyday essentials like eggplant and parwal are hovering around Rs 100 and the cost of chillies has crossed Rs 150.
Fruits like Kashmiri apple, pear and pomegranate are around Rs 200 a kg. “To cut corners in order to balance the budget, we rarely buy these fruits now. Most of the fruits are prohibitively expensive these days,” said Sunita Iyer, whose mother has been unwell for the past few days.
Since Mahalaya, the prices of most fruits rose sharply due to supply issues. Unseasonal and excessive rains have caused damage to a large number of fruits. “We grade the fruits and after sorting, a huge amount of fruits are getting wasted. Thus, graded fruits become expensive,” said Sahajda Alam, a fruit trader. Gariahat.
MD Naeem, Fruit Trader Thakurpukur Market, added: “We do not have the facility to preserve the fruits. The day we get the consignment, we sell the fruits.
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