Kozhikode: While Supplyco has avoided holding Christmas- New Year markets in eight districts, Consumerfed will be holding the same in all 14 districts. The fairs will begin on Saturday. Minister V.N Vasavan will inaugurate the fair at a ceremony to be held in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday at 2 PM. The markets will function on all days till December 30, including Sundays.

13 items are made available with government subsidy. The prices will be 30-50 percent less than the general market price. The non-subsidised items will also be made available at a discount of 19-40 percent.

Consumerfed chairman M Mehboob informed that tokens will be issued at pre-scheduled times to avoid congestion. Over 300 people will be able to purchase the goods each day. 

The rates of the 13 subsidised items are: Jaya rice (25), Kuruva rice (25), Matta rice (24), Pachari (23), Sugar (22), Green gram/ cheru payar (74), Chickpeas/ Vankadala (43), Urad dal/ uzhunnu (66), Red cow peas/ Vanpayar (45), Toor dal/ Thuvara parippu (65), Chilly (75), Coriander (79), Coconut oil (46).

This year, Supplyco fairs are only going to be held in Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur, Ernakulam, Kottayam, Pathanamthitta and Kollam. Kozhikode was initially included in this list to be later replaced by Pathanamthitta. Supplyco’s market operations are in crisis as the government owes distribution companies Rs 800 crores. 

When the tender was invited, the suppliers stayed away and those who participated quoted huge sums. It was initially decided not to have a fair this year but due to the intervention of the Chief minister, it was agreed to hold it on a limited scale. There is also concern that running a bazaar without enough supplies will attract a lot of criticism. This time, the government has allocated Rs 19 crores for the markets.