COVID lockdown rumours lead to panic buying, rise in ration prices in Telangana's Adilabad district

ADILABAD:  Now that the elections to the urban local bodies in the State are over, rumours of a lockdown being enforced in Telangana are doing the rounds in Adilabad district.

Anticipating the lockdown, residents are buying ration in bulk at markets and taking advantage  of this, traders of several commodities like oils, pulses etc have jacked up prices. Some locals are stocking up enough groceries to last them for 2-3 months.

The price monitoring committee has not taken any steps yet to control the price rise. The committee is headed by the joint collector, but the post has been vacant since the past few months. Local residents say the prices of a 5 litre can of oil had increased last year an reached Rs 630 during December, 2020.

Now, they have to shell out as much as Rs 850 for the same can, while thew price of a 1 litre packet of oil has also increased from Rs 140 to Rs 170.

Locals say that the current in-charge District Collector is not able to devote enough time to their issues as he has been given the additional charge, apart from being the Collector of Kumrambheem Asifabad district.

This was necessitated after the earlier Adilabad Collector Sikta Patnaik went on leave a few months ago.

Last year too, post the lockdown, a few shops had increased the prices of commodities but  the then District Collector Sri Devasena would regularly monitor the prices and file cases on whoever increased them. 

Locals add that the Civil Supplies and Food Safety officials must carry out inspections of prices at regular intervals and control the prices, but nothing of the kind was happening.