Rajasthan: Some make the extra buck before curfew comes into force | Jaipur News

JAIPUR: At about 5pm in the Lal Kothi Sabji Mandi, the vegetable sellers had no option than to abandon the unsold tomatoes, bottle gourd, bitter gourd and other perishables on the roadside. Standing a few feet away, they called out buyers offering bitter gourd at Rs 10 per kg instead of Rs 60, tomoto at Rs 5 instead of Rs 30, and 3 kg of bottle gourd for Rs 10. They were afraid of losing their weight measuring instruments to the roving policemen who were intent on closing the mandi by 5.30pm.
The scenes in the markets were different. Cigarettes were out of stock in many places. Whoever selling was asking for Rs 20-50 extra. Ghutkha was also in the artificial shortage category. In liquor shops, many had to pay extra Rs 100-300 per bottle.
As offices were closed at 4 pm, there were crowds of people at every bus stop. It was also the day for the auto rickshaws to earn some extra bucks. For a ride of Rs 60, commuters had to pay Rs 150.
While the announcing the week-end curfew, the chief minister had tweeted that there would no disruption to the supply of essential commodities including milk. But many dairy booths and shops ran short of the milk on Friday.
“The supplier did not bring cigarettes today. When I called him, he told me to collect from his place and said I have to pay Rs 20 per 20 unit packet. Because of the extra money, I decided not to keep cigarettes. If people horde and the curfew is lifted on Monday, many will lose money,” said a shop owner in Raja Park.
He admitted that both the suppliers or area dealers and the shops take advantage of such emergency situations and there is no government interference to punish them.
Markets looked unusually crowded on Friday as people carried home large quantities of soft drinks, ice creams, snack foods and other items even though these items will be available during the curfew days.
“There is a fear that people may not get what they like. In situations like this short supplies of a few items happens. That is the reason they are stocking on their favorite items today,” said Bhaskar Sharma, a grocery shop owner.
By 6pm, the roaming police vehicles and the cops on the roads managed to bring down the shutters of the markets in what otherwise would have been a busy beginning to the weekend business.