Tomato tamasha: Inside the red zone

NEW DELHI: Anisha Joshi, a resident of south Delhi's Shahpur Jat, got into a heated argument with four people standing in the queue as she appeared to cut the line to the counter selling subsidised tomatoes

- Aheli Das

Joshi, a mother of three, works as a house help. People in the queue raised objections, saying that her getting the tomatoes before them would be "unfair".

"I cannot afford to buy tomatoes for ₹250 per kg, and I cannot go back home without them. We have been eating tasteless food," Joshi shot back.

The woman is among hundreds of others who queue up every day to purchase subsidised tomatoes at government outlets in Nehru Place and Hauz Khas, among other areas.

After the price of tomatoes shot up, the National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India Limited (NCCF), under the direction of the ministry of consumer affairs, started selling them at subsidised rates from July 14. NCCF is currently selling them for ₹70 per kg as against a market rate of about ₹250. However, the demand has been off the scales and NCCF officials say they are struggling to control the crowds at these outlets.

Yogendra Prasad Singh, branch manager, NCCF, says they are also shortstaffed. "One day, a man hit one of our staff members because we ran out of tomatoes. We do not have the manpower to send more than two people per location," said Singh.