By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, March 8: The state government has established a Price Monitoring Cell (PMC) and formed two committees to address the issue of rising prices in the state.
The PMC dashboard tracks daily prices of essential commodities across districts and sub-divisions. However, since certain food items, such as meat and fish, are not included in the dashboard, two committees — headed by the respective divisional commissioners — have been set up to analyse the causes of price increases and recommend effective measures to address the issue. These committees include representatives from various stakeholders.
Earlier, the state government had directed the Food, Civil Supplies, and Consumer Affairs department to constitute a task force to investigate the factors contributing to rising prices at different levels of the supply chain.
According to the department, Meghalaya relies heavily on imports for essential commodities.
Factors such as delayed monsoon rains, excessive rainfall, drought, supply-demand imbalances, challenging topography and climate conditions, as well as high labour and transportation costs, have all contributed to price increases.
Additionally, the weight restrictions on the recently repaired Umiam Bridge have forced transporters to take a longer route — covering nearly 80 km via Mawryngkeneng to reach Shillong — further exacerbating the problem. While an alternative route is being explored, until it becomes operational, this additional burden will continue to impact transportation costs.