A customer tries to negotiate the price of bee larva at the super market in Dimapur. (Morung Photo)
Dimapur, Aug 30 : Indigenous delicacies of Nagaland are no more a gourmet treat for most people. Of late, the prices of exotic meat, bee larva, aquatic creatures, domesticated birds etc, have risen beyond the common man’s budget. Most people don’t even want to contemplate buying the tantalizing food anymore.
In Dimapur’s super market, a plate sized hive of bee larva is priced anywhere between ` 600 to ` 1000. The price varies within the market. A wicker holding about ten chunks of banned exotic smoked meat is priced between ` 400 to ` 700.
A pair of local chickens, is sold for not less than ` 500, irrespective of weight; while dry river fishes is priced anywhere between ` 400 to ` 500 depending on the quantity. Silkworms come for a high price of ` 150 to ` 300 per plate.
The vendors attribute the high cost of indigenous delicacies to ‘scarcity.’ “Moi khan bhi bishi dukh para ani ase (we are bringing it with a lot of difficulty),” most say. The vendors also try to make up for the different kinds of taxes they pay for renting stalls. Most people are now complaining about the high cost of indigenous delicacies.
“We understand it involves hard work…but ` 900 for a handful of bee larva is unreasonable,” a customer said. The vendors are having their way by fixing exorbitant prices on indigenous delicacies.
While it is amply clear such high rates exist in the market, yet there is no mechanism in place to prevent hoarding of any kind. There is no price monitoring system on such items and the prices are soaring every week. Dimapur Municipal Council (DMC), which is in-charge of fixing rates for all perishable items in the market, has not formulated the prices of indigenous delicacies owing to several factors. As a result, local vendors continue to fix rates according to their whims and fancies.
DMC Advisory member in-charge of market rate and quality control, Atovi Zhimomi said “It is difficult to fix rates for such items because they are not regular in the market.” Another problem he cited was prices for such food items are hard to determine. “Such products cannot be fixed in terms of kilograms or pieces,” the member said. Furthermore he said price for exotic meat is not fixed by DMC because there is ban on sale of such meat.
Zhimomi added he does not want to discourage local vendors because it takes a lot of hard work to bring the produce in the market. However, DMC would be compelled if it feels the prices are unreasonable, he said. Also taking cue of the complaints received, he assured the DMC would inspect the market and make sure the vendors don’t overprice their products. “Yes…if prices are unreasonable we may be compelled to take action,” Zhimomi said.
Unless a proper mechanism is put in place to check the random pricing of indigenous food in the market, vendors will continue to fix prices on indigenous delicacies unreasonably. . “It is a complete rip-off,” a lady opined.
A lover of silkworms, she stopped buying them due to high price. Prices of all food items- both local and imported- must be regulated by concerned authority to prevent vendors from hoarding.
via The Morung Express
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