As continuous heavy downpour hit the southern states of the country during the current November month, resulted disruption in the normal life of the people especially in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh which were severely affected. In this scenario, the import of tomatoes from Andhra Pradesh has come to a standstill and the price of tomatoes has skyrocketed in several states including Tamil Nadu. Even at Koyambedu market, the main hub of Chennai, people express agony over the price hike of tomatoes which is currently sold for over Rs 150 per kg. Apparently, farmers in Dharmapuri district had dumped nearly one tonne tomatoes on the road alleging that they were getting only Re 1 per kg of their produce when the retail price stands at Rs 4 per kg. This aside, meme creators who have a cool approach to any pain or trial are now disseminating memes about tomato price hike on social media.
Even Google media trends show the top searches to be about the red fruit. Top searches on google about tomato on how to make Chutney, Sambar and Rasam without tomatoes is making netizens ‘lol’. Although it’s a regular occurrence of search by people who are allergic towards tomatoes, it is a timely entertainment for netizens right now. Subsequently, an eatery located in Maduranthakam in Chengalpattu district gave biryani packets in exchange for 1kg tomato following the price hike.
Rains battered Chennai between November 18-20 on the back of a low-pressure system that showered rains up to 20.5 cm at some locations in Chennai, and other northern districts.
While the prices continue to rise in the southern states, Delhi seems to be not completely safe from the hike. Ashok Kaushik, the president of the Azadpur Tomato Association told PTI, “The tomato supply to Delhi from south India has been affected because of the rains. If rains continue in the coming days, the prices in the national capital might rise from the current level.
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