Traders Ignore Administrative Warnings, Potato and Grocery Prices Remain High, Unjustified Hike Amid Cyclone Threat
Kakatpur: 22/10
Report: Tushar Dixit
As the threat of the approaching cyclone looms large, residents of coastal Odisha are in a state of fear. Taking advantage of this situation, traders have arbitrarily increased the prices of potatoes and essential groceries, much like tightening a noose on already anxious citizens. In an effort to control this unjustified price hike, the administration of Kakatpur and Astaranga visited the local markets on Tuesday. They urged traders to refrain from overpricing items such as potatoes and groceries and advised them to display rate charts. However, these advisories have largely been ignored in the Astaranga and Kakatpur markets, leading to customer dissatisfaction and complaints of being cheated.
The fear of the cyclone has created a sense of panic among the residents of Astaranga and Kakatpur. During this time, some unscrupulous traders have resorted to black marketing and are exploiting customers. To curb this, Astaranga Tehsildar Priyanka Priyadarshini Pati, along with the Astaranga Police and the Supply Department, carried out raids in the Astaranga food market. They instructed all traders to sell potatoes at their original prices. However, the traders blatantly ignored this order.
Previously, the price of potatoes ranged between ₹30 to ₹35 per kilo. Now, anticipating the cyclone, customers heading to the market for essentials like potatoes, onions, and other groceries are being charged inflated prices. This has led to widespread dissatisfaction. Many now say that the administration’s intervention in the Astaranga food market has failed, as no trader has displayed any rate chart despite official instructions. Customers who earlier used to purchase 3 to 5 kilos of potatoes are now forced to buy only 1 to 2 kilos due to the high prices.
Even today, in Kakatpur’s grocery market, it was only after the Supply Officer personally intervened and urged the shopkeepers that they put up rate charts in front of their shops and sold items at fixed prices. In Ganesh Bazar, where the food market is located, Ganesh Bazar Committee President Kamala Lochan Dixit, Secretary Manusha Kumar Dixit, Bidhu Bhushan Das, Badal Sahu, Nakula Sahu, Baidhara Sahu, and Pintu Chand roamed the market, advising all traders to charge fair prices. They also interacted with customers to ensure they were not being exploited. The market president confirmed that strict monitoring is being maintained to prevent customer exploitation.
