SRINAGAR: Prices of essential commodities continue to spiral across the Kashmir Valley, with consumers accusing the administration of abandoning market regulation and allowing traders to operate without oversight.
Despite the Srinagar–Jammu highway remaining open, food prices have surged to record levels, raising questions over the government’s ability to monitor supply lines or enforce any form of price discipline.
A tray of eggs is selling at Rs 240 in Srinagar and nearby districts, while chicken has reached Rs 170 per kilogram. Vegetables and fruits are being sold without any uniform pricing, and traders appear to be ignoring official rate lists that, residents say, have lost relevance amid unchecked overcharging.
Consumers insist there is little clarity on which department is actually responsible for regulating prices. Whether it is the Food and Supplies Department, municipal bodies or district administrations, none are visible on the ground. In this vacuum, private trader groups are allegedly setting prices on their own terms, effectively regulating the market in place of the state.
Locals say rate lists displayed outside shops are misleading, as sellers charge different amounts inside. Complaints to officials make no difference and surprise inspections, once routine, have become rare, leaving violators largely unchallenged.
The impact is evident in neighbourhood markets. Vegetable prices fluctuate daily, chicken rates differ from locality to locality, and essential items are steadily slipping out of reach for middle-income and working-class families.
“There is total anarchy in the market,” a resident of Dalgate, Srinagar, told Kashmir News Trust. “No one knows who has the authority. Traders decide prices in the morning and change them by evening.”
Consumer rights advocates say the administration’s inaction has emboldened errant sellers, while even honest traders feel compelled to follow the inflated rates being enforced informally.
Public anger is rising as officials remain missing from the field, effectively leaving price control in the hands of private bodies and individual traders.
With winter demand increasing and no government intervention visible, consumers fear further escalation in the coming weeks, adding to the financial strain on households already grappling with unemployment and declining incomes.
