Rythu Bazaar at Mehdipatnam has been witnessing a steep hike in prices of Vegetable and onion, causing problems for customers.
Rythu Bazaar at Mehdipatnam is the only Market, selling vegetables at a price prescribed by the government, the remaining being available at a premium of 20 per cent to 60 per cent. Strangely, a huge board greets customers displaying official prices for the day at the Mehdipatnam Rythu Bazaar entrance every day.
Though farmers are assured of 20 per cent profit, there seemed to be no mechanism in place to monitor price sought by farmers from customers at rythu bazaars in the city.
On Sunday, brinjal was being sold at Rs 20 per kilogram against the fixed price of Rs 13 per kg, which was about 50 per cent higher than the fixed price by the marketing department at the Mehdipatnam Rythu Bazaar.
Similar was the case with cabbage, which was being sold at Rs 20 a kg against the fixed price of Rs 13 per kg. A senior citizen Syed Jaleel at rythu bazaar observed, “We have been facing this problem ever since this Rythu Bazaar came to existence. If you watch closely, there is a syndicate that operates silently in the bazaar.
Generally the middlemen come to the rescue of farmers when questioned by people like me about the inflated price of the vegetables and few farmers said that they pay mamool of Rs 2 per kg of the total produce for protecting their interests in the bazaar.”