Odishatv Bureau

Bhubaneswar: With the start of the holy month of 'Kartik', vegetables prices in Odisha have put consumer budgets in disarray.

While some vegetable vendors believe that the prices will remain high for the entire month and blame untimely rains for supply shortage, some feel that the prices will come down soon.

"During Kartik month, the prices always remain high as people shun non-vegetarian food for a month. But the untimely rain, which still continues, has added to the woes. Now, the demand is high, but the supply is low," said secretary of Chhatra Bazar (Cuttack) traders' association, Debendra Sahoo.

Consumers, who are currently feeling the pinch, said that they are left with no choice other than buying the vegetables at high prices. "We have curtailed consumption. We often face such price rise during the Kartik month, but this year, the prices are higher as compared to past years," said one consumer, Subhransu Mohanty.

Such an increase in vegetable prices have burnt a hole in our pockets, lamented another consumer, Rajendra Nath sahoo.

However, a vegetable vendor Budhia Das said, "The prices will be high for some days, but it will not continue for long."

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