By Our Correspondent, Parsa, June 13: Prolonged lockdown has pushed the price of food and consumer goods up in the district to the dismay of common people.

According to the local traders, since the Indian markets across the border are closed due to the lockdown imposed in the wake of the second wave of the COVID-19, the price of daily essentials has sky-rocketed.

It was not the case during the first lockdown in 2020 as the markets across the border were open and Nepali people used to smuggle the foods and other goods into Nepali territory.

A local grocer Chandrika Prasad Keshari said that the price of most goods has shot up even in the Indian market and the carrying charge – which has gone up steeply due to the restrictions as the smugglers have to take illegal entry points – has made it difficult to bring the prices down.

Kitchen indispensables like edible oil, sugar, pulses, rice, and spices are 20-15 per cent more expensive compared to the pre-lockdown situation.

President of Birgunj Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Subodh Gupta, said that as there was no situation to supply the goods according to consumer demands, businesses are importing the goods illegally which has resulted in a price hike.

He said that many of the industries at the Birgunj-Pathlaiya Industrial Corridor are shut and a few are running at 50 per cent of their total capacity. Chairman of Consumer Forum Parsa, Dina Prasad Gupta, said that the businesses are charging arbitrary prices due to the lack of effective monitoring of the market.

However, Deputy Chief District Officer and Coordinator of the monitoring committee, Bhimkant Poudel, said that monitoring couldn't be made effective since the shops were allowed to open for a brief period. However, he stated that the monitoring would be continued in a few days.