Ranchi, Sept. 21: If you find your favourite bhindis and gobis disappearing from your platter, blame it on the rains.

Prices of vegetables have soared in the last week, forcing the average household into a delicate balancing act. The culprit, most believe, is the heavy rains lashing the city and its surrounding areas for the last one week, which have snapped the supply line from nearby villages. Farmers say the incessant downpour has submerged crops, resulting in the crunch.

a rough survey by The Telegraph revealed that the jump in prices of green vegetables ranges from 10 to nearly 200 per cent. A few, such as baby potatoes, have disappeared from the market.

The price of one kg of lady?s finger (bhindi) has shot up to Rs 16 from Rs 6 while a kg of cauliflower is dearer by Rs 8 from the earlier price of Rs 20 per kg.

Vegetable vendors in the capital?s markets said the supply of green vegetables is way above the demand. According to a rough estimate by the vendors, 10,000 quintals of vegetables are needed every day to meet the residents? needs. Right now, they are getting 4,000 quintals every day, a substantial shortfall.

Worse still is that the forecast from farmers, which states that the supply will be under control only by the end of November.

Mohammad Naseem, a farmer of Pithoria, said ?Fresh seeds will be sowed as soon as rain water drains or dries. For the seeds to grow and the fresh crop to be harvested, it will take 11-12 weeks. Which means, prices will normalise after Kali Puja.?

Federation of Jharkhand Chambers and Industry secretary Arjun Prasad Jalan is one of the Cassandras who believes that the prices will skyrocket in the days to come. He, however, blames the curbs on the entry of trucks into the capital for the shortage of vegetables.

?The present price hike is nominal and is partly the result of heavy rainfall in the last five to six days. But I anticipate higher prices in the future because the vegetable market is no longer competitive,? Jalan said.

?After the district administration?s decision of restricting entry of heavy vehicles in the day, local vegetable producers have established monopoly on the vegetable market and are fixing prices according to their convenience,? he alleged.

Marketing board officials, however, denied any link between the traffic restrictions and the price hike.

The vegetable market, they said, is mainly dependent on the local farmers? produce. Vendors endorsed the stand, saying the embargo on trucks had little to do with the shortage.