MARGAO: With the Diwali festival just around the corner, Margao residents are feeling the pinch as prices of essential commodities surge. Preparing festive Goan delicacies like fov, chakli, chewda and shankarpali in large quantities to share with friends and neighbours may upend the household budget as produce and other ingredients have seen notable price increases, and the authorities appear to be taking no action to curb the rising costs.
Geeta Khandeparkar, a housewife, said that the prices of most essential commodities have risen, affecting household budgets.
For example, the Diwali staple breakfast – fov, or poha, enjoyed in various sweet and savoury variants, costs Rs 56 per kilogram this week. Brown poha, made of the boiled rice, costs Rs 75 per kilo, she added.
While prices of most ingredients have risen by five to seven per cent, these are the still the subsidised rates offered by Sahakari Bhandar outlets, which is often very crowded; the same commodities cost at least 15 per cent more in supermarkets, she lamented.
Jaggery costs Rs 48 per kilogram, sugar is priced at Rs 43, semolina (rawa) at Rs 38, and vanaspathi costs Rs 143 per kilogram, straining the budgets of many families.
The prices of pulses, grams and other vegetable-based protein sources have also seen a steep increase over the past couple of weeks.
Chana dal costs Rs 91 per kilo, atta (flour) at Rs 57, white peas are Rs 96, and toor dal is Rs 190 per kilo. Green peas are being sold for Rs 122, moong dal for Rs 127, masoor dal for Rs 97, and kabuli chana for Rs 190 per kilo. Additionally, masoor dal is being sold for Rs 93, urad dal for Rs 138, and white chawali for Rs 96 per kilo. Meanwhile, vegetable prices have also surged, with onions costing Rs 55 per kg, tomatoes at Rs 25 per kg, potatoes ranging from Rs 30 to 35, and beans priced at almost Rs 80 per kilogram.
According to local sellers, prices have been on the rise for the past two months, even though there is no shortage of these items in the State. “We don’t know the reason,” they say.
