Amidst the coronavirus pandemic people who suffer the most are the common people, in terms of monetary and socio-economic aspects. When it comes to buying necessity ration items, the marginalised and middle-class families are having a real tough time as the prices are soaring high especially of rice despite bulk supply.
It is disconcerting to note that despite having a record amount of food grain in stock, the country is witnessing an abnormal price hike of rice. At present, the country has a stock of 17.01 lakh tons of rice in its stock.
It is said that the illegal storage of rice is the main reason behind the rice price hike. Many businessmen, to earn more profit, have kept rice in their respective rice and husk mills illegally. They are waiting for when the government will allow importing of rice and will start supplying from their stock at a higher price.
It is disconcerting to note that despite having a
record amount of food grain in stock, the country is
witnessing an abnormal price hike of rice
The soar in price of rice are due to rise in demand and lack of supply and also increase in price of raw materials needed for production. The government should formulate policies so that farmers can produce the necessary items in lower prices and also in bulk.
We all know that, if the supply of goods is stable, traders will not be able to increase prices of rice randomly by creating a fake rice crisis. Therefore, to curb the price hike, government needs to safeguard ample supply of daily commodities, particularly food items.
When the price of these essential commodities goes up, raids are launched on store houses, retailers are fined and jailed. However the big guns behind the scenes always remain out of hands. These businessmen who run the syndicates always remain one step ahead of the government. Actions should be taken against them first. Some of them also have connections with persons at top levels in the government. Therefore, if the government really wants to destroy the syndicates, small inconsistent operations will not do the job. The actual bosses behind the scenes must be caught. All in all, unscrupulous business syndicates must be brought under strict punishment.
