Pongal shopping may burn a hole in your pocket

Coimbatore: Pongal seems to be an expensive affair this year, with the prices of sugarcane and flowers touching new highs. People, who usually flock to Poo Market a day before Boghi for Pongal purchase, were shocked to find that a pair of sugarcane was priced at anywhere between Rs 100 and Rs 150 on Sunday, up from Rs 75-Rs 80 last year.
Merchants attributed the high prices to diesel price hike, which has shot up the rent for trucks that were used to bring sugarcane to the city mainly from Mecheri in Salem and Madurai. Truck rent has gone up by Rs 4,000-Rs 6,000, they said.

“Last Pongal, we paid Rs 22,000 for the truck. This time, we had to shell out Rs 28,000. Truck owners cite diesel price hike as the reason,” said Senthil Kumar, who sells sugarcane and turmeric at Poo Market. He has brought sugarcane from Melur in Madurai.

Similarly, Meena Devi, who has brought sugarcane from Mecheri in Salem, said she had to shell out Rs 13,000 on truck, compared to Rs 9,000 last year.

The prices of flowers, especially that of jasmine, have also shot up this year. Jasmine was sold at Rs 3,500 per kg on Sunday, a rise of Rs 1,000 since Friday, said Jayanthi, a flower seller at Poo Market.

People, who came for Pongal purchase, said they had to cut down on the commodities or quantity due to the high price. Pointing out that she had bought a pair of sugarcanes at Rs 80 last year, Sangeetha Senthilkumar, a homemaker from TVS Nagar who visits Poo Market for purchase during festival seasons, said this year the price had almost doubled. “The rate of flowers too has doubled. Though we cut down on flowers, we had to buy sugarcane as it is a must for the festival.”

While turmeric was sold at Rs 60 a pair and Avaram flowers at Rs 10 a bunch, Poolaipoo, which is used for Boghi rituals, was sold at an abysmal Rs 1-Rs 2 per bunch, compared to Rs 10-Rs 15 last year. The reason, merchants said, was that the flower was available abundantly due to good rain in the region.