Sealed Borders Choking Supplies: Food Prices On Fire In City

With most trucks stranded after fresh curbs at Capital’s entry points, stocks at veggie & fruit hub dwindling, biz down by 60%

- Prashasti Shandilya, Isha Gupta & Sushant Mehra

Prices of vegetables, fruits, and other household staples have shot up in Delhi, burning big holes in the pockets of lakhs of residents, Mail Today ground reports have revealed.

For example, the costs of capsicum, ladies finger, ginger, garlic, and bottle gourd have more than doubled in many areas of the National Capital.

Reasons: Sealed borders, higher transportation costs, absence of adequate labour, and rising demand due to lockdown extension apprehensions.

Worse, Azadpur Mandi — Delhi’s largest wholesale hub for these produces — has been crippled by the virus scare.

So far, 11 positive cases have been reported from the market, forcing many fear-stricken traders to confine themselves at homes as others scramble for testing. Business is down by at least 60%, said traders who are still operating.

A big chunk of vegetables comes from Sonipat. Now with the Delhi-Haryana border sealed, the number of trucks carrying onion and potato has plummeted from 180 to 65, said Rajendra Sharma, general secretary of Potato and Onion Merchants’ Association at Azadpur Mandi.