The Indian navy station in the capital has declared war on inflation. Every Saturday, a truck hired by the navy goes to Azadpur Mandi in North Delhi
NEW DELHI: The Indian navy station in the capital has declared war on inflation. Every Saturday, a truck hired by the navy goes to Azadpur Mandi in North Delhi and picks up vegetables for about 400 families at almost half the retail price. These vegetables, whose quality and freshness are monitored by officers of the navy, are then sold to the families of sailors at wholesale price.
The plan, suitably adopted by other group of people living together, holds the key to beating inflation face down as it circumvents the middleman system that inflates prices at every level.
Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Sureesh Mehta appreciated the idea mooted by the Delhi station of the navy and the naval headquarters ensured there were no bureaucratic hurdles.
“By eliminating the middleman and purchasing directly from the mandi, we are able to pass on a significant value to our sailors whose dietary patterns have been most severely hit by the current bout of inflation,” Commodore Abraham T Lucose, Navy station commander, New Delhi, told DNA.
For the family of a sailor, a steep rise in vegetable prices means eating less every day since the navy does not provide vegetables and fruits to its men.
The scheme came about when Lucose went to Azadpur Mandi in February and began asking basic questions about demand, supply and pricing of vegetables. “I was shocked to see the difference in wholesale and retail prices,” he said. Lucose came back and asked his officers why couldn’t the navy bring down the prices for sailors. “In a week’s time, our trucks were rolling,” said Lt Commander Vinod Nair.
The families of sailors could not have been happier. “Compared to Sarojini Nagar, the prices here are almost half. The quality of vegetables is also excellent,” said Tamanna Chahar, a mother of two whose husband is a sailor.
“We had to cut down on eating vegetables when the prices spiralled. With this scheme, the food quality has gone up immensely while the prices have come down significantly,” said Monica, another sailor’s housewife in Chanakyapuri.
When DNA made independent enquiries at Sarojini Nagar market near Chanakyapuri, it found that the sailors were paying half the market price (see box). The scheme has been such a success that officers are now requesting to include them in it as well.
“We now want to supply wheat and fruits to sailors. I am in touch with farmer groups who can sell us wheat in bulk at wholesale rates. The market price of good quality wheat is Rs16 per kg while flour is priced at Rs24 a kg. If we bring down the price of wheat to Rs11 through bulk purchase, sailors will be able to sail through the steep rise,” Lucose said.
t_mayank@dnaindia.net
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