Jaggery traders form syndicate to fleece devotees in north Telangana

Jaggery prices have surged from Rs.40 to Rs.60 per kg ahead of the Sammakka Saralamma Jatara, with traders accused of forming a syndicate to exploit rising demand. Devotees have urged officials to curb overpricing and conduct surprise inspections.

Warangal: Traders from northern Telangana have allegedly formed a syndicate to sell jaggery, which is witnessing huge demand from devotees performing rituals during the biennial Sammakka Saralamma jatara scheduled for January 28.

Devotees traditionally offer jaggery equivalent to the weight of their children and family members to thank the deities for their well-being and fulfilment of wishes, using the commodity as part of the rituals. With the festival approaching, devotees are swarming grocery stores to purchase at least 10 kg of jaggery, resulting in brisk sales across the district and neighbouring Peddapalli, Prof Jayashankar Bhupalpally, Mulugu, Karimnagar and Mancherial districts.

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While jaggery was sold at Rs.40 per kg a month ago, the price has now risen to Rs.60 per kg, allegedly due to increased demand from devotees of the tribal deities. Traders in the district and other parts of northern Telangana are reported to have formed a syndicate to cash in on the demand, importing jaggery from Maharashtra and Karnataka.

“The traders irrationally spiked prices by projecting an artificial dip in supply from neighbouring States and are fleecing devotees. A section of traders is also selling poor quality jaggery due to a lack of supervision by the officials, some of whom are allegedly accepting bribes and remaining silent while devotees are being fleeced,” a source said.

Devotees regretted that they were helpless in controlling the overpricing of jaggery and demanded that officials conduct surprise checks on warehouses to ensure the commodity is sold at reasonable prices. They also urged the authorities to take steps to prevent overpricing by traders.

Officials said steps would be taken to check overpricing of jaggery if complaints were lodged and stated that warehouses would be inspected to prevent illegal storage of the commodity.