Prices of food items up by 10% to 20% in Tiruchi restaurants

As a cascading effect of the steep increase in prices of vegetables, rice and other essential commodities, restaurant owners in Tiruchi have increased the prices of food items in restaurants by 10%. to 20%

In recent weeks, there has been a steep increase in the prices of essential commodities in Tiruchi. While the prices of tomatoes and shallots touched ₹ 200 a kg last week, an all-time high, the prices of other vegetables including potato and brinjal too were sold at around ₹ 50 a kg. Similarly, the prices of ‘tur dhal’ and rice have also gone up sharply. While a kg of Mannachanallur ponni is sold at around ₹ 60 from ₹ 55 about six weeks ago, one kg of tur dhal is sold at ₹ 150 against the normal price of ₹ 80 to ₹ 100.

The price rise has hit people of all walks of life. It has also had a cascading effect on the prices of food items in restaurants. Almost all forms of restaurants and eateries right from organised and standard restaurants to unorganised and roadside eateries have increased the food items by at least 10% to 20%. No food item including idli has escaped from the price hike.

At the Central Bus Stand area in Tiruchi, where a number of standard restaurants function, one pair of idly is priced at ₹ 40 to ₹ 46. The price of a plain dosa, a most popular food item, is ₹ 80 and ₹ 90. It is ₹ 90 to ₹ 95 for a rava dosa. Similarly, the restaurants charge ₹ 130 for one meal (south Indian thali) In normal restaurants, one pair of idly is priced at ₹ 30 to ₹ 40 and a dosa at ₹ 65 to ₹ 70. The price of a meal is ₹ 100 to ₹ 110, which is ₹ 10 to ₹ 20 more than last month.

In roadside eateries, one pair of idly is priced at ₹ 15 and dosa at ₹ 35 to ₹ 40. The prices of other food items have also been increased by 10%.

“The recent increase in vegetable and other essential commodities is abnormal. We have to pay ₹ 19,500 for a 30 kg bag of cumin seeds. It was ₹ 7,400 during the same period last year. The prices of almost all spices items have gone up sharply. If the prices of one or two items go up, we cannot manage. How will we manage the situation if the prices of almost all grocery and vegetable items go up simultaneously? We follow the policy of revising the price list once a year. But the current situation forces us to take some urgent steps to increase the prices of food items,” said P. Satish, proprietor of Ezham Suvaia, a chain of vegetarian restaurants in Tiruchi.

The common people rue over the sharp rise in food items.

“I have noticed that the upward revision in food prices is done frequently. ₹ 100 is not sufficient to eat dosa and two idlis. It is not affordable to many commoners ,” said M. Masilamani, a passenger from Pudukottai.