Kochi: The ‘Abki bar Modi’ campaign in the run-up to the Parliament elections has been identified as one of the biggest success stories in the creation of mass illusions. The longevity of any illusion however, is short-lived and Mr. Narendra Modi has proved he is not an exception to the law of averages. If the comments on the social networking sites are any indication, the Modi Magic is waning as fast as it is engendered. The spiralling price of essential commodities is one of the major reasons for the reality check on the Modi regime.
The first major decision of the government to hike the passenger fare in Railways by 14.2 per cent and freight rate 6.5 per cent has only accentuated the problem. The recent hike in petrol, diesel and LPG prices is only expected to hasten the process.
Kerala, which depends on other states for most goods including food grains and vegetables, is one of the worst hit states with the price of most goods showing an average increase of more than 20 per cent in the past two months. In Kochi, price of vegetables, fruits and other essential items, which had remained stable and reasonable until April, has witnessed a sharp surge in the last few weeks. Vegetables like long beans, tomato, cabbage, carrot and bitter gourd have also gone beyond the reach of the middle class. Market reports indicate that the escalating price has also affected the traders. Retailers and supermarkets report a gradual fall in the sale of vegetables.
“We are now ordering small quantities of vegetables as the sale has dropped considerably. On an average, 30 loads of vegetables were coming to Ernakulam market every day,” said Saji, wholesale dealer in Ernakulam market.
According to Jose Kallingal, a hotel owner, soaring price of vegetables is harsher than the escalated price of sugar, rice or pulses. “Price of rice and sugar has been increased by two or three rupees while price of vegetables has doubled,” he said.
“Kerala which depends heavily on rail traffic for the transportation of essential commodities is going to feel the heat, especially vis-a-vis freight movement, which is bound to push the prices upward. Such a steep hike will be a burden on passengers who have been relying on trains as the only affordable mode of transport,” C.P. Mammen president of Cochin Chamber of Commerce and Industries said.
The price hike is part of the policy decision of the government, said P.J. James, former professor of economics and leader of CPI-ML. “The Modi government is following the neo-liberal economic policies of Manmohan Singh government which involves concessions to corporate companies and cut in welfare programmes for the public in the name of austerity,” he said.
Banning export of sugar and restricting export of onions, the measures adopted by the government to reign-in the prices, is unlikely to reduce rates, observers pointed. In the current situation it would only help in pushing up the rates further. A report published by Competition Commission of India in 2012 about the onion market in the country has blamed hoarding as a major reason for the increase in the price of the commodity. “A few big traders well connected with market intermediaries in other markets seem to play a major role in hoarding in anticipation of expected high prices,” it said.
Demand outstripping supply is another major reason cited for the rise in the price of vegetables. The figures available with the National Horticultural Board shows that the vegetable production in the country has shown a modest increase of 4.67 per year while prices have doubled in the last five-years from 2008-09 to 2013-14. Vegetable production has risen to 170.2 million tonne from 129.07 million tonne.
Whatever may be the reasons, the trauma of price rise an unbearable reality staring at ordinary people. In the retail markets of Thiruvanantha-puram the price of rice and sugar has gone up by 250 per cent in the last three years, said traders. The price of rice which was '18 to '20 per kg in 2011 has gone up to '40 to '45 while that of sugar had shot up from Rs 14 to Rs 40, they added.
