Inflation robs sewaiyan of its sweetness

CHANDIGARH: For Zaki Ahmed, a shopkeeper selling rusk and sewaiyan (sweet dish made of vermicelli) near Jama Masjid in Sector 20, the holy month of Ramadan has come at a tough time, when prices of commodities are spiralling to drastically bring down the number of takers for his goodies.
���Though we���ve now increased rates very marginally to attract customers, it hasn���t made much of a difference.And if the wholesale market does not reduce prices of ingredients such as sugar and oil, we���ll be forced to hike rates further,���said a despondent Ahmed.
In the same business for last 16 years, Sagar Khan of Mauli Jagran narrates a similar tale. Witnessing a decline in sales, he said, ���While I sold around 300 kg of sewaiyan last year in a day, I haven���t been able to sell more than 180 to 200 kg per day this year. Not just are there fewer customers, but people are also buying lesser.��� Subhash Singal, owner of a wholesale shop in Grain Market, Sector 26, added, ���There are almost no customers this time, unlike last year during Ramadan.���
Lamenting that inflation had hit the common man hard, keeping sewaiyan almost out of his reach when he broke his dawn to dusk fast, Mohd Shakeel, who runs a printing press in Dariya village, said, ���It is the most essential item during this holy month but, priced at Rs 90 a kilo compared to Rs 70 last year, people are contending with lesser amounts of it.���
The irony of this hike, that has plummeted sales of fruits alike, can���t be missed when vendor Shareef, who sells guava and dates, also ends his roza (fast) each day either with water or roti. ���Fruits are out of reach of people like me, who?d rather settle for a meal costing much lesser but more filling,��� he added.