Prices rise, Rythu Bazaars, Mana Kuragayalu see huge rush Farmers wooed to grow veggies

The city’s 26 Rythu Bazaars and 46 Mana Kuragayalu outlets are suddenly seeing more footfalls with vegetables becoming costlier at retail outlets.

Estate officer R. Ramesh said the Erragadda Rythu Bazaar usually sees 10,000 customers during the week and 12,000 over weekends. “The number has risen to 15,000 on normal days and 20,000 on weekends,” he said. This is one of the biggest vegetable markets in the city with 260 stalls.

“We are requesting farmers to bring more vegetables to meet the requirements. As the crop has been good in Medak and Sangareddy districts, we are expecting sufficient arrivals this week,” he said.

At the Mehdipatnam Rythu Bazaar, estate officer K.R. Vijay Kumar said local crops had started arriving in the markets and vegetable prices would come down next week.

He said marketing department officials were visiting villages and motivating farmers to take their vegetabels to the Rythu Bazaars and Mana Kuragayalu outlets

The Mehdipatnam Rythu Bazaar is getting about 10,000 customers for the past week against 7,000 on normal day, and the Kukatpally Rythu Bazaar The marketing department sending its officials to tell farmers in the districts surrounding Hyderabad to cultivate vegetables to meet the growing demand in the city.

Sent out by marketing department additional director G. Lakshmi Bai, the teams from Rythu Bazaars, especially estate officers, are telling farmers to grow unseasonal crops like Tomato-916, carrot and bitter gourd.

Besides, they are discouraging cultivation of similar vegetables by different farmers in the same village.

Erragadda Rythu Bazaar estate officer P. Ramesh said Hyderabad was getting tomatoes from fields to the west and south and gourds from the northeast. “Farmers from Shamshabad, Choutuppal, Uppal and other southeastern areas are supplying leafy vegetables,” Mr Ramesh said.

Farmers send the vegetables to the Rythu Bazaars closest to them, which was resulting in different demand-driven prices. For example, farmers from Mominpet and Nawabpet near Vikarabad send tomatoes to Kukatpally or Mehdipatnam.

“The teams are motivating farmers to grow other vegetables to avoid losses,” Mr Ramesh said.

An official from the marketing department said the initiative could result in more vegetables reaching the city markets, which could help control prices.

The teams have gone out to Mominpet, Nawabpet, Shankarpally, Chevella, Tandur, Vikarabad, Shadnagar and Shamshabad in Vikarabad and Ranga Reddy districts, Shamirpet and Keesara in Medchal, Bommala Ramaram, Kondamadugu, Mailaram, Choutuppal, Bibinagar and Chityal in Yadadri Bhuvanagiri districts.