Written by Anisha Ghosh

The prices of vegetables are soaring high in Kolkata. While brinjal now sells for 150-200 per kg, prices of tomatoes, green chillies, ridge gourd, bottle gourd and pointed gourd have also surged.

“The price of bottle gourd has almost doubled, from Rs 25-30 to Rs 45-50 per piece. Cucumbers were approximately 40-50 rupees per kg but now cost Rs 70-80 per kg. Pointed gourd usually sold for Rs 25-30 per kg but is now Rs 50 per kg. Bitter gourd ranged between Rs 40 and 50 but now it is sold for Rs 80, like ridge gourd,” said a vegetable seller at Maniktala Bazar.

“I haven’t bought brinjals recently due to the price rise. Other vegetables are still in the range for the middle class. But brinjals have become out of our league,” said Taposh Dutta, a regular buyer at Hatibagan Bazar.

Vegetable sellers say that vegetable prices rise every monsoon, as flooding of fields affects yields and supply even as the demand increases.

“Brinjals are a zaid (summer) crop. This is not the brinjal season. Tomatoes also fall in the same category. It is being imported from South India, which has led to the price surge,” says a vegetable vendor in Baguiati Bazar.

“I had to cut back on most vegetables, specifically brinjals. I usually buy a kilo or two of brinjal from Bijoygarh Bazar but due to the inflation, I can only afford 500 g of the vegetable now,” said Sikha Rawat, a homemaker.

Rabindranath Koley, an expert on vegetable prices, said the season has almost ended for these vegetables in West Bengal. “Now the leftover crops are being supplied at high rates,” he said.

“Every year during this time, vegetable prices increase mainly because of the flooding of farms in West Bengal. This might continue for a month or two, and the prices will come back to normal after that,” Koley added.

Anisha Ghosh is an intern with The Indian Express.