Srinagar, Oct 7: Even as the food inflation has eased by over seven points during last six months, it has given little respite to consumers.
 “The high prices of food articles are not correlating with the income of common man,” said Rashid Ahmad, a consumer, adding that the rising prices have become a “chronic malady” in day to day life.
 “This has given rise to distress, especially among people living at the subsistence level and also among the fixed income group,” he said.
 A government employee said: “6th pay commission has given around 25 per cent pay hike to the employees. But the prices of some commodities have almost doubled.”
 “The food inflation is more marring for the common consumer. One can do without luxury or high-end goods, but food is the basic necessity,” said a customer
 Ghulam Hassan, a shopkeeper said: “There has been great increase in the rates of spices, cereals and essential food items.”
 “The price rise has become a bane for the consumers and its taking toll on the common households. The price of the commodities is getting dearer day by day and all that a consumer can see is the burden on their pockets,” said a consumer.
 A consumer said the rising food prices are increasing day by day and it is hard for him to save money for his daughter’s wedding which is likely to come up in a year’s time.

Experts say:
According to experts the inflation will continue to remain at high levels at least for the next 5-6 months. “The food inflation is rising every fiscal and it has shown an upward surge in the current fiscal as well. High global commodity prices triggered by supply constraints are unlikely to cool off immediately,” they said.
Experts said the escalating fuel prices have made all the essential commodities pricier. They suggested that the government should do more to curb the food inflation.

Lastupdate on : Fri, 7 Oct 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Fri, 7 Oct 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sat, 8 Oct 2011 00:00:00 IST