Stop fleecing, task force tells Gariahat, Lake Mkt vendors
Times of India | 14 July 2024
Kolkata: Members of the agricultural task force who surveyed Lake Market and Gariahat market on Saturday, to check the reasons behind the spike in prices of vegetables, warned some vendors against selling certain items at an unnecessarily higher price.
The team’s first stop was at Lake Market and then, the Gariahat market. At both the south Kolkata markets, the members identified vegetable vendors, who they found selling potatoes, tomatoes, brinjal, ladies fingers and chillies at a high price.“At Lake Market and Gariahat market, we compared the prices of vegetables being sold there with those at Koley market, a wholesale market. We came across several vendors who were charging a high price for vegetables that are not so costly at the wholesale market. We warned them against such artificial price rise. If need be, we will again conduct a surprise visit to these markets,” said a task force member.
Another member said the prices of essential vegetables were likely to go down in another two weeks when the produce from the city fringes and districts was expected to reach markets.
Anamika Bhattacharya, a resident of Fern Road, who had gone to Gariahat market, said she had been noticing that some vendors charged extra for some vegetables. “I have been hoping the prices will go down. Let’s see if the task force drive yields any results beneficial for us,” she said. But Abhishek Guha, who lives on Ballygunge Station Road, said he was not convinced that the drive might lead to a positive result. “We want to see action on the ground. Otherwise, how can we expect the vegetable sellers, who are charging extra, to act sensibly?” Guha said.
Rabindra Gupta, a potato seller at Gariahat, pleaded helplessness. He claimed that if the govt failed to keep a steady supply of potatoes, the price rise was inevitable.