THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a bid to check the rocketing prices and ensure adequate supply of vegetables in the city, the Kerala State Horticultural Products Development Corporation (Horticorp) is rolling out four more mobile vegetable outlets. This will take the total number of Horticorp mobile units in Thiruvananthapuram to five. The units, which will be flagged off by Agriculture Minister K P Mohanan on Wednesday, will offer nearly 44 varieties of vegetables at 30-per cent reduced price, Horticorp officials said. The services of the mobile units will be available on all days except Sundays. Throughout the day, the mobile outlets will tour major junctions, residential areas and government offices. Residential areas will be covered daily from 7 am to 10.30 am and from 5 pm to 7 pm. The detailed schedule will be available by Wednesday. ‘’Our idea is to cover the entire city in a phased manner. On Saturdays, the units will focus exclusively on residential areas,’’ Horticorp managing director Manoj Kurup said. ‘’The project has been in the pipeline for sometime, but with the vegetable prices soaring, we decided to sell the vegetables at 30-per cent reduced prices as part of market intervention. Once the prices stabilise, we will start selling the vegetables at the normal price,’’ Kurup said. Across the state, soaring vegetable prices had stung the common man’s monthly budget with the prices of certain items shooting up by 80 to 100 per cent over the past weeks. Subsequently, to bring the situation under control, the State Government had announced the sale of vegetables at reduced prices. The new mobile outlets are part of the Horticorp’s expansion plans. At present, the state-run agency has 98 stationary outlets across Kerala, of which 58 are in Thiruvananthapuram. At Wednesday’s launch, Horticorp chairman Lal Varghese Kalpakavadi will make the first sale of vegetables from the new mobile outlets.
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