Bhubaneswar, Oct. 17: Phailin has not only ravaged urban infrastructure here, but has also burnt a hole in the pocket of the common man as vegetable prices have skyrocketed in the local markets since October 12.

Vegetables grown on thousands of acres in Cuttack, Puri and Khurda have been submerged following the post-cyclone floods in the state. As a consequence, prices of veggies have skyrocketed.

While brinjal, pointed gourd and bitter gourd have become scarce, prices of other vegetables, too, have gone up by Rs 10 to Rs 20.

The city is dependent on Barang, Banki, Athagada, Nakhara and Nimapara and some other parts of Puri district for its vegetable requirements. Now, there is no supply of vegetable from these areas.

Wholesalers are now forced to turn to neighbouring states such as Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand to meet the demand for vegetables.

“The city gets 10 tonnes of locally-grown vegetables every day. But, the floods have led to zero production in those areas. The situation is likely to prevail till the first week of December as production of local vegetables would take another month,” said general secretary of Rajdhani Dainik Haat Byabasayi Mahasangha Gayadhar Swain.

“Usually, this is the phase when people get fresh vegetables at cheap price. But, the situation has become so bad now that we simply cannot afford to buy vegetables,” said Binodini Samal, a homemaker.

“Most people observe the auspicious Kartik month, which starts from tomorrow, by eating vegetarian food only. We are already short of vegetables. Further demand of will only result in an inflation of the veggie price,” said Sarat Behera, a vegetable vendor in Rasulgarh Haat.