Karnataka - Bangalore

Vegetable prices up by 30 to 40 p.c.

BANGALORE: Prices of vegetables and fruits in Bangalore have shot up while the arrivals of foodgrains into the markets have declined even as the all-India truckers strike entered the fourth day on Thursday.

While vegetable prices have shot up between 30 and 40 per cent after the truckers’ strike commenced, the Yeshwanthpur Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) officials have said that they were witnessing arrivals of foodgrains despite the strike. “We have stocks that could last for a minimum of two weeks, as arrivals of vehicles carrying food grains have dropped by around 30 per cent,” APMC president E. Krishnappa told The Hindu.

APMC sources said that the market received about 12,000 bags of onion (50 kg in each) on Thursday as against about 14,000 bags received on Wednesday.

There was a drop of about 5 per cent in the arrival of potatoes, though the officials were unable to provide the exact quantum that arrived on Thursday. “We encounter these fluctuations even during normal times,” Mr. Krishnappa said.

As most of the heavy vehicles stayed off the road, Mr. Krishnappa said: “Traders are using three-wheelers and two-wheelers to transport grains to their respective shops.

Even some of the big traders resorted to two trips a day to transport grains to their shops.”

According to government sources, the Cabinet Secretary has called a meeting of senior officers from the ministries of Roads and Highways, Petroleum and Natural Gases and Commerce to take stock of the situation in Delhi on Friday. The meeting will discuss the issues raised by truckers and make some recommendations to the Prime Minister. Meanwhile, the Centre has sought report from all States regarding the prevailing situation.

The Karnataka Porters’ Association has said that truck strike has affected porters badly. “There are about 178 APMC outlets in Karnataka in which 10 lakh porters are working. Porters earn their income from the lorry transportation alone, and due to this strike, they do not have any money at all,” N. Balan, general secretary of the association said. They do not even have enough money for conveyance or for their basic needs, he added.

Transport Minister R. Ashok on Thursday urged the Union Government to immediately hold talks with the protesting truckers to ensure that their strike ends.

Speaking to presspersons on the sidelines of a meeting organised by the Bharatiya Janata Party in Bangalore to analyse the reasons for the party’s defeat in three Assembly seats in the recently held byelections, Mr. Ashok demanded that the Centre shun its stubborn stand with respect to holding talks with truckers.

He noted that the State Government had adequate storage of fuel for the vehicles of the State-held transport corporations and government vehicles.

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