Makar Sankranti: High Prices Mars Festivities
By Arnab Ghosh, Gaea News NetworkFriday, January 14, 2011
MUMBAI, INDIA (GaeaTimes.com)- Indians are gearing up to celebrate Pongal and Makar Sankranti abiding by the rituals and traditions but this year many families have kept the celebrations low profile. The main reason for this is the high price of the vegetables including onion in most of the states in India. The skyrocketing vegetable prices have forced the common man to cut down on his Pongal and Sankranti menu. However, the residents of Hyderabad and adjacent cities are somewhat relieved as the government has arranged for special vegetable packages that are being sold at reasonable rates. Many households have cut down on spending for the guests during the festivals.
The situation in Bangalore is hardly any different. Gandhi Bazaar which is among the busiest South Bangalore markets, has witnessed much less footfall this year, say the local traders. The vegetable vendors have also been badly affected by this soaring price of essential vegetables and they are complaining that most of the buyers have been buying less for the last few days owing to the escalating cost. Even the rate of flowers are very high during the festive season and buyers are unwilling to spend too much on flowers on Makar Sankranti .
The only relief for the common man during Makar Sankranti is that the price of the fruits are not much high than the usual. Except pomegranate, the other popular fruits are being sold at more or less regular rates. In Maharashtra, the arrival of fresh stock of onions is the only ray of hope. The market analysts say this is likely to bring the price of onion down in the next few days.
