Srinagar: Ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr, prices of meat and fruits have risen so sharply that they have dampened the festive spirit of many people in Srinagar.
Chicken, which two weeks ago was selling at between Rs 100 and Rs 120 a kg, was sold on Friday at Rs 190 in most of the markets in Srinagar. Mutton was selling at around Rs 650 to Rs 750 a kg, nearly three hundred rupees more than the government-set rate of Rs 400 a kg.
Vegetables and fruits, too, are being sold at rates that bring 100 percent profit to retailers. For instance, watermelon, which has been selling at Rs 30 in the retail market, was on Friday no less than Rs 50 a kg. Apple was selling at Rs 120 a kg against wholesale rates of Rs 45.
This profiteering amid the Covid crisis has riled ordinary people. Many families in Srinagar have no source of livelihood and are being provided relief by social organisations or volunteers. Donations are also being collected for them in Ramadan in the form of zakat and sadkaat. The Srinagar administration has provided 50,000 ration kits for the needy during Ramadan.
At such a time, retailers, bereft of any empathy, are taking full advantage of the situation. All this is happening in broad daylight, with the government department mandated to keep a check on market rates doing nothing. According to the director of consumer affairs department, Bashir Ahmad, action can be taken against any offender only when a formal complaint is registered in his office. The other option, it seems, is for people to not buy chicken and mutton.
The government’s claim of controlling market prices has never reflected on the ground, a fact admitted by the mutton dealers’ association president Mehraj, and Parimpora fruit mandi association president Bashir Ahmad. The margin between the retail and wholesale prices shows how the absence of effective checks leads to unbridled profiteering.
“Eid is ahead. I am left with only a few thousand rupees to survive on. The market rates are above what I can afford,” said Gulzar Ahmad, a mason. Gulzar has been at home without work for two months now. He has decided to cut down on some delicacies this Eid, which he as a routine offered to families of his three married daughters.
In Kashmir there is a tradition of inviting in-laws of a married daughter to one’s home. The daughter’s parents offer delicacies to the in-laws to show respect and gratitude.
“This situation is painful. I always wait for this time in the year to invite my daughter and her family. This year, first due to no work, and now due to unaffordable prices, the customs I value are being lost,” Gulzar said.

Junaid Nabi Bazaz