Hyderabad rice traders told to display stock, prices on boards

Hyderabad: Rice traders in Hyderabad have been ordered to put up boards at their shops showing the variety, stock and price per kg, as the State Civil Supplies department tries to check hoarding while prices keep climbing.

The directive was issued by Chief Rationing Officer GV Shyam Prasad Lal at a meeting with wholesalers and retailers on Tuesday, October 27, reported The Hindu. Traders must update the details regularly, and officials are to be alerted if there are gaps in supply.

Lal warned that action would be taken as per law against anyone creating an artificial scarcity of rice. He said the department would keep monitoring stocks and prices.

The order comes as the price of some rice varieties has nearly doubled, from around Rs 45 per kg to Rs 80-85 per kg. Low-income families told The Hindu that their monthly grocery bills have gone up sharply, and they fear prices could touch Rs 100 per kg.

Siasat.com had earlier reported that, according to Union Consumer Affairs Ministry data, retail rice prices in Telangana rose 13.3 per cent between July and September. Families have been cutting purchases, buying cheaper products and adding alternative grains to their diets to cope. Sugar has also become costlier, selling at Rs 53-55 per kg in Hyderabad on October 12, up from Rs 46-48 in September.

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