Dearth of food items in Guwahati city has added to the misery of the citizens amidst the lockdown.
By, Muskaan Agarwal
April 17, 2020
Lockdown might have come as a preventive measure against COVID-19, but accessing groceries has become a taxing affair for the citizens. Shortage of tea, coffee, cooking oil, vegetables, and even essential items worry the people of Guwahati.
“We are struggling to find even essential items in this area. There are more than three ration shops in this area but they lack essential items like flour and rice,” said Shubham Jain, a resident of Kumarpara.
“Due to the sudden lockdown, I am only left with some stock of rice and flour in my store,” said Ganga Pandey, an owner of a grocery shop. “Earlier, I had sugar, salt, food grains, masalas, packaged food, cereals, and pulses. But now I have not been able to get in contact with the wholesaler. There are problems in the transportation of food as well”.
Other owners of the grocery stores say that the government has not laid down the rules for the food supply in the city.
Manoj Nath, Director of the Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs said, “We have enough stock of food. There are a few areas where there is a deficit of essential items, but the problem will be addressed soon as the production has started for some of these essential items.”
The shortage of groceries for general shops and markets is due to the production of these items that was stalled in view of the lockdown. Ganga Pandey also mentioned, “If wholesalers start charging more money, even we will have to increase the prices of the items.”
