Prices of essential edible items go down in Jharkhand

By Nityanand Shukla

Ranchi, April 7 (SocialNews.XYZ) Jharkhand seems to be fighting the cornonavirus pandemic effectively on every front.

Initially, there was a crisis of essential edible items due to panic buying, but after two weeks of lockdown, the stocks are full, leading to a drop in their prices. The prices of flour, sugar, rice and other items have gone down.

"When lockdown was announced, there was panic buying. Now the situation is under control. We have enough stock of each commodity. In the last two weeks, the prices of many edible commodities have gone down," Santosh Kumar Singh, President of Padara Bajar Samittee, told IANS.

On Tuesday, the price of sugar was Rs 3,780 per quintal which was Rs 3,840 per quintal when the lockdown was announced, mainly because sweet shops are shut and no function is taking place due to the lockdown.

The price of rice has also declined. The normal price range is between Rs 680 and Rs 735 for a 25 kg bag. This has declined by Rs 25 to Rs 35.

Similarly, the price of wheat, which was around Rs 2,800 per quintal at the time of the lockdown announcement, has come down to Rs 2,460 per quintal.

However, there is no change in the price of mustard oil which is being sold for Rs 102 to Rs 105 per kg.

The price of arhar daal has also declined from Rs 6,500 to Rs 9,000 per quintal by Rs 500 per quintal. Chana daal has declined from Rs 5,200 per quintal to Rs 4,900 per quintal. Similarly, prices of other pulses like moong, masoor and urad have also declined.

The price of kabli chana has remained unchanged though.

"There was a shortage of flour after four days of lockdown. But gradually it has become available in the market. The only problem is transportation from the mandis to the private shops. We have to face the ire of the policemen while ferrying essential commodities," said Rajesh Sribvastav, a shop owner.

To help the poor people, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren has opened up 'Mukhyamantri Didi Kitchens', which are providing free meals to the people.

At present, 3,647 Didi Kitchens are functional in the state. There are also 344 'Dal Bhaat' centers and 472 special 'Dal Bhaat' centers being run by the police and another 391 such centres are operational, which are serving food to around 10,04,493 people.

The government is also distributing food packets in various districts while as many as 688 NGOs and volunteers are providing food to the people.

For the migrant workers, 674 camps have been opened in which 54,555 people are being provided food. The FCI is also providing wheat to the rice mills while medicine passes are being provided to the vendors so that they can come to Ranchi and collect medicines.

Source: IANS