Reportedly prices of vegetables, fruits and other household staples have shot up in delhi, burning big holes in the pockets of lakhs of residents, Mail Today ground reports have revealed.For example, the costs of capsicum, ladies finger, ginger, garlic and bottle gourd have more than doubled in many areas of the National Capital. Reasons: Sealed borders, higher transportation costs, absence of adequate labour, and rising demand due to lockdown extension apprehensions.
Worse, Azadpur Mandi Delhi's largest wholesale hub for these produces has been crippled by the virus scare. So far, 11 positive cases have been reported from the market, forcing many fear-stricken traders to confine themselves at homes as others scramble for testing. business is down by at least 60%, said traders who are still operating. A big chunk of vegetables comes from Sonipat. Now with the Delhi-Haryana border sealed, the number of trucks carrying onion and potato has plummeted from 180 to 65, said Rajendra Sharma, general secretary of Potato and onion Merchants' Association at Azadpur Mandi. Adil Ahmad Khan, chairman of Azadpur Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee, said "There was no supply of vegetables from Sonipat. "Overall, daily supplies have come down from 8,000 tonnes to 5,000 tonnes," he said.
And the situation might get worse. "Many traders like me won't go to the Mandi until proper sanitisation, tracing of positive cases and their contact history and stricter implementation of social distancing were done," said Mahavir Singh. Mandis such as those in Okhla and Ghazipur are also witnessing a sharp price rise, said traders. During the first 21 days of the nationwide lockdown, only 1.32 lakh tonnes of wheat was sold in the mandis. This was only about 6% of the total amount of wheat sold in the same 21-day period in 2019. Similarly, the supply chain of other foodgrains and vegetables was severely disrupted due to the sudden announcement of the lockdown, a study conducted by academics from JNU has found. Traders said that since trucks are not operating and workers have gone home, supplies are not coming and doing business is not impossible.
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