Kolkata: Roadside food and tea stalls using clay ovens has started feeling the heat of rising coal prices across the city. Many roadside vendors stated that wholesalers and retailers had increased coal prices by Rs 2 per kg, attributing the rise to increasing transport costs and the ongoing CNG crisis.
"Till Tuesday, I bought coal for Rs 20 per kg. The supplier sold it to me for Rs 22 today. If coal prices soar, how will I run my shop?" said Gopal Chandra Das, who sells egg toast, ghugni and boiled eggs.
In wholesale markets, the coal price rose to Rs 20 from Rs 18 per kg, while some suppliers, mostly middlemen, revised the price to Rs 22 per kg in some other markets. Rajesh Shau, a coal retailer in the Goltala area, said, "We procure coal and sell it with a profit margin. Those who place orders for bulk quantities get it at the old rates." A Coal India official told TOI: "The procurement cost at the main source remained unchanged."