BHOPAL: Price rise in the past six months has burnt a hole in the pocket of an ordinary man. Most of the edible items, especially oils, pulses, sugar, tea and wheat flour, have become dearer.
The price of cooking gas has also shot up by almost 33%. A 14-kg LPG cylinder, which used to cost Rs 600 till a few months ago, is selling for Rs 900.
The price rise has become a double-whammy, because the salary of many government servants has been blocked, due to corona-induced lockdown.
Because of the economic recession, many private organisations have put their employees on layoff. As a result of that, the middle class families are on edge. They do not know how to meet their daily expenses.
Anuj Shrivastava, a government employee, said that they buy their kirana once a month. "Earlier, the total bill was around Rs 8,000. Now, it is Rs 12,000," he said. According to him, pulses, poha, rice and edible oils are main contributors to the added burden. "A 15-litre can of Soyabean oil, which was priced at Rs 1,500 earlier is now selling for Rs 2, 200," he said. He said that their family of eight persons is now spending around Rs 25,000 per month on food, including fruits and vegetables.
Ramakant Tiwari, former general secretary of Bhopal chapter of Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) said that removal of stock limits by the government is one of the key factors behind the price rise. "Traders are now free to stock as much quantity of any commodity as they want to. Naturally, they are hoarding things in the hope of getting a better price," he said.
Pinki Verma, a housewife, said that the price rise has affected the kitchen budget of her family. "We need to buy an LPG cylinder every 20 days. The price of a cylinder has increased by almost Rs 300. Milk, bread and edible oils are also costlier," she said.
Deepu Wadhwani of Bhopal Kirana Vyapari Mahasangh and the owner of Wadhwani Brothers, a kirana store in the Old City, said that price of Soyabean oil, which is the highest-selling edible oil, has increased by Rs 25-30 litre over the past six months. "One reason is the poor Soyabean crop and the other is the ban on import of edible oil. Only a small quantity of edible oils is coming into the country from Nepal and Bangladesh. It is not consumed almost entirely in UP, Bihar and West Bengal" he said.
Increase in prices of select essential commodities in the past six months:
Sr. No. Item Unit Price (In Rs)
Then Now
1. Soybean Oil Per litre 80-85 130-140
2. Mustard Oil. Per litre 80-90. 125-150
3. Groundnut Oil. Per litre 90-100. 150-160
4. Sunflower Oil. Per litre. 100-110. 140-160
5. Hydrogenated Oil. Per litre. 70-80 110-115
(Dalda).
6. Pure Ghee. Per kg. 400-450. 500-600
7. Wheat flour. Per kg 24-28. 29-32
8. Sugar. Per kg. 36-38. 40-42
9. Tuar Dal. Per kg 95. 110
10 Tea Per kg 500. 560
11. Bread Packet 20-40 25-50
12 LPG cylinder - 600. 900