Onlykashmir.in News Desk
The steady rise in the prices of essential food items is placing a growing burden on ordinary households across Kashmir. Milk, eggs, vegetables and fruits have become costlier, and families are struggling to manage even their daily kitchen expenses.
From breakfast to dinner, the effect of inflation is being felt in almost every household. Items once considered basic necessities are turning into expensive purchases, forcing families to cut down on quantities, compromise on food budgets and reconsider everyday spending.
The price of an egg tray has reached Rs 230 in local markets. Milk prices have also been revised, while consumers continue to face high prices of vegetables and fruits, making routine grocery shopping increasingly expensive.
The situation is especially hard for salaried employees, daily wagers, pensioners and families dependent on limited incomes. While household incomes remain largely unchanged, the cost of running a kitchen continues to climb, leaving little room for savings or other essential expenses.
“What has particularly angered consumers is the apparent absence of effective market regulation,” a consumer said. Questions are being raised over who monitors the prices charged by traders, whether regular market inspections are carried out and what action is taken against those found overcharging.
Consumers say there appears to be no effective mechanism to ensure that prices remain reasonable or that traders adhere to prescribed rates. In the absence of visible and consistent enforcement, market conditions are increasingly seen as arbitrary, with ordinary buyers left to bear the consequences.
The concern, they say, is not just about one or two commodities but the cumulative burden of rising prices across almost every essential category. People are asking the concerned departments and market regulatory authorities why consumers are repeatedly expected to absorb price increases without any visible intervention to protect their interests.
“The administration needs to move beyond routine assurances and undertake regular market inspections, verify prevailing rates, check for unjustified profiteering and ensure that consumers are not exploited,” the consumers said. They added that access to affordable food is a basic necessity, not a luxury, and that when milk, eggs, vegetables and fruits become hard to afford, the issue goes beyond market fluctuations and becomes a matter of public concern.
Kashmir’s prices tend to rise in winter, as supplies of fresh vegetables dwindle and the cost of transport goes up, particularly when roads are affected by snow. Enforcement of rate lists, which in the past has been carried out by the Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution Department and civic bodies, is often seen as most visible just before festivals or during emergencies. Consumers are now asking for year-round monitoring.
No official response to the concerns was available. The consumers’ demand for regular inspections and action against profiteering is likely to grow as the cold season advances and the pressure on household budgets increases.
