Another rain damper: costly, rotten veggies

BENGALURU: The unseasonal rain over the past few days has a telling effect on the kitchen budget: fewer vegetables on the table, quality in free fall, and prices are rocketing. The incessant rain has wrought havac on farms in Kolar, Mandya and Hassan districts and also in neighbouring Tamil Nadu.
Tomatoes and beans that come from Kolar and Chikkaballapur and lady's finger and brinjals brought in from Tamil Nadu are among the most affected.Green peas have become the costliest vegetable this season: unpeeled ones cost Rs 144 per kg and peeled seeds cost Rs 300 per kg at Hopcoms.
Bengaluru gets about 800-1,000 tonne loads of %vegetables every day from various districts of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.Merchant associations say incoming stocks have dipped to about 700-800 tonnes, including the rotten stock, and prices are up by 30%.
The bustling KR Market and Russell Market as also markets at Kogilu and HAL have been wearing a deserted look with very few buyers. Rotten vegetables can be seen all over the markets. In many shops, they are mixed with fresh vegetables.
RV Gopi, president of vegetable merchants association, says there are few buyers due to the rain. "Pushcarts buy veggies from wholesalers and sell them in neighbourhoods at double the price. Because of the price spiral, pushcart sellers are losing customers. Citizens prefer to buy directly from retail shops," he said.
A shopkeeper at the market under the Hebbal flyover said, "Locals prefer to buy from us because we bring very fresh and quality vegetables from Yelahanka and Kogilu where farmers sell their produce directly. But the stocks are very less."
Hypermarkets, too, are charging double the price of beans, tomatoes, peas, radish and spinach. However, Gopi said there is no shortage of fruits in Bengaluru markets because they mostly come from Nagpur, Kashmir or Uttar Pradesh.