With the truckers’ strike entering third day on Sunday, the prices of vegetables brought from places such as Oddanchatram in Dindigul and other places increased marginally in the retail markets in the city on Sunday.
V. Chitra (50), a vendor at Gandhipuram vegetable market for the last 40 years, said that prices of vegetables such as ash gourd, potato, onion, capsicum and a few others have shot up marginally. Onion that was sold at ₹22 a kg has increased to ₹25, price of potato has increased from ₹25 to ₹30, and ash gourd from ₹15 to ₹25 on Sunday. However, there was no change in prices of vegetables cultivated in the surrounding villages, as they were brought to the markets by farmers in vans, she said.
Meanwhile, farmers at Uzhavar Sandhai were asked to maintain status quo on the rates of vegetables and fruits. Officials were instructed to ensure regular arrival of vegetables and fruits to the markets in vans and government buses, said M.R. Palanisamy, Deputy Director of Agriculture Marketing and Agriculture Business.
Coordination committee
Mr. Palanisamy said that coordination committee meetings were convened by Coimbatore Collector T.N. Hariharan on Saturday night and Tirupur Collector K.S. Palanisamy on Sunday. Coordination committees have been formed in these districts to monitor regular transportation of vegetables to wholesale and retail markets. The committees consist of top officials from the Departments of Horticulture, Agriculture, Agriculture Marketing and Agriculture Business, Police and Revenue.
As on Sunday, no instances of vegetable accumulation for want of transportation to markets were reported, he added. Meanwhile, the managing directors of the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporations were instructed to allow farmers to take vegetables to the markets free of cost in buses without any inconvenience to the travelling public. Additional Chief Secretary to Government and Chairman of TNSTC P.W.C. Davidar has issued a circular in this connection, Mr. Palanisamy added.