Hyderabad: BRS deputy floor leader and former minister T Harish Rao on Monday expressed concern over the rise in prices of fine rice and other essential commodities and urged state govt to immediately review the situation and take steps to provide relief to consumers.In a statement, Harish Rao criticised Congress govt, alleging that it had failed to control inflation and protect consumers from rising prices. He said the price of fine rice had increased by 25% in the past four months, placing an additional burden on common people.Questioning govt’s claims of record agricultural production, Harish Rao asked why rice prices were rising despite higher output. He said increased production should have resulted in lower market prices. He also questioned the effectiveness of govt’s fine-rice distribution scheme, saying the rise in retail prices suggested consumers were not fully opting for the grain supplied under the scheme.Harish Rao alleged that farmers were receiving only nominal returns under the minimum support price (MSP) mechanism, while middlemen were making substantial profits. He said farmers were not getting remunerative prices and consumers were being forced to pay more, with intermediaries benefiting from the situation.He also flagged the rise in prices of other essential commodities. According to him, onions were selling at ₹70 per kg, garlic at ₹240, groundnut oil at ₹210 per litre, green gram dal at ₹125 per kg and toor dal at ₹165 per kg. He said the price rise was straining household budgets, particularly those of middle-class and low-income families.Alleging that civil supplies department had failed to effectively monitor markets, Harish Rao demanded stringent action against black marketing, hoarding, artificial shortages and excessive profiteering.He urged Centre and state govt to intervene immediately to curb prices and provide relief to consumers.
