STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: The Government's recent decision to increase GST on packaged food items by 5 per cent to 18 percent has left the lower-income and middle-income groups of the city in a quandary.
According to a shopkeeper in the city, a 25-kg packet of a particular brand of rice, which used to sell at Rs 1,050 before July 18, is now selling at Rs 1,150 – an increase of around Rs 5 per kg when sold loose. The price of wheat (atta) has also increased by Rs 3 to Rs5 per kg. The price of a 1-kg packet of seera (flattened rice) has risen from Rs 55 to Rs 60. The price of a packet of puffed rice (moori) has risen from Rs 20 to Rs 23, the shopkeeper said. The cost of a small container of Amul curd (plain) has risen from Rs 30 to Rs 32, while that of the sweetened variety has risen from Rs 35 to Rs 38. A packet of Amul paneer (cottage cheese) now costs Rs 88 in place of the earlier Rs 85.
A customer at the shop lamented that no shopping worth the name can be done if one goes to the market even with Rs 500 in one's pocket. He said that the wealthy class is not facing any problems and even the low-income groups have schemes like Orunodoi to provide some relief, but the middle-class is caught in a bind due to escalating prices of food items.
A woman customer at the shop said that it is becoming increasingly difficult to survive in a city like Guwahati if there is only one earning member in the family.
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