VELLORE: Vegetables prices have drastically dropped in and around Vellore district as supply has increased since loads to Kerala are being diverted to Vellore and neighbouring districts.With the Mullaiperiyar issue at its peak during the last few days, lorries were not allowed to enter Kerala. Lorries were stopped at all 13 entry points to Kerala, on Wednesday.In response to this, lorries that carry vegetables from various places in Tamil Nadu to Kerala were directed to Vellore, Arcot, Arni, Arakkonam and even neighbouring districts of Kancheepuram, Dindivanam, Tiruvannamalai and Chennai, for the past few days. President of Vellore vegetable traders association, Balu, said, “During the last 2 days, we received 20 extra loads of vegetables from Odanchathiram, Bangalore town, villages in Bangalore, Coimbatore and Hosur.” This has increased the stock of vegetables causing the prices to plummet. Sources said that prices of many vegetables have fallen to half against last week’s prices, while others have hit one-third the price. However, whether there is a price rise or fall, the victims are the vegetable sellers. “We now face the problem of storing the vegetables. And since they cannot be stored for long, we are forced to sell everything by the end of the day, at a low price,” said one vendor at the Mandi Street market in Vellore. The worst sufferers are small vendors who come door to door selling vegetables. Most of the vendors in Vellore are from Rangapuram, Perumugai, Melakuppam, Ariyur, Anaicut, Oosur, Kaniyambadi and other villages. They sell produce cultivated on their own plots of land. They alleged that people now prefer to go to the market rather than buy from them.
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