Prices of fish, chicken soar

Apr 13, 2020, 05:00 IST

Ranchi: Heavy rush was witnessed at shops selling fish and mutton here on Sunday, after the district administration permitted them to operate amid the lockdown. However, due to limited supply and increased demand, rates surged by more than 30%.
Prakash Nisad, a fish wholesaler at Tharpakhna, said, “We opened our shop after about two weeks. The demand has increased by more than 25%, but the supply from other states has declined by over 30%. Because of this situation, prices have surged.”
Some also blamed lockdown restrictions for the demand-supply gap. Rashid Muhammad, the owner of a shop selling chicken at Ashoknagar, said, “Supply is not regular, hence prices have surged. Before lockdown, we were selling chicken at Rs 50-60 per kg, but the same is being sold at Rs 110 now.”
Shopkeepers rued that the rush of customers often also resulted in the violation of social distancing norms. Sushil Kumar, one of the shopkeepers at Lalpur, said, “The demand is high and we are unable to fulfil it. Because of this, customers sometimes gather in large numbers ignoring social distancing rules.”