The festive season in the auspicious month of Shravana will be an expensive affair after all for the common man.
With the prices of goods skyrocketing due to lack of rains, essential commodities like fruits and flowers will leave a hole in the buyer’s pocket.
Reeling under severe shortage of rainfall and a poor agricultural output, the prices of festive essentials have gone up by 30-35%.
HOPCOMS managing director B N Prasad told DH that the hike in commodities is attributed to poor agricultural production following scanty rainfall. “In the absence of rains, farmers are heavily dependent on groundwater. This has affected the produce as availability of water is not uniform across the region thereby affecting production and quality. As the situation wasn’t ideal for farmers, the buyers will feel the heat too,” he said.
With just a few days left for the Varamahalakshmi festival that marks the beginning of the festive season, the prices of fruits and flowers have almost doubled compared to a week ago. Traders at Malleswaram, KR Market and Yeshwantpur revealed the prices are expected to go up further with the high demand.
“Prices will certainly double during the week especially on Thursday, the day before the festival, and will burn people’s pockets,” said Surya, a shopkeeper in Malleswaram market. Due to the high demand, imported foreign apples are expected to be sold out in the next 10 days, leaving only Shimla apples which have also shrunk in size this year.
The lotus flower, a must for the Varamahalakshmi festival already touched Rs 50 a piece and is expected to touch Rs 100 around the festival day. Jasmine flowers, at the fag end of the season, are expected to cross Rs 1,000 per kg. “There is no dearth of demand for jasmine, even though the season is fast coming to an end. Even the poorest man will put a string of jasmine for goddess Lakshmi,” said Sharada, a flower vendor at Malleswaram market.