Stories about chillies rotting in the field and fetching disappointing prices a few months ago came back to haunt some parts of the country again. Like in every winter, some districts are facing a shortage of the spice this time too. In Dagana, it has been more than a month since the residents laid their hands on green chillies. They say although the district produces green chilli, it is sold in Thimphu as the price is better there.
The hot green chilli is in high demand in Dagana like in any other district. However, there is no supply and the residents have been substituting it with dried chillies.
“We have to frequently visit the market for vegetable shopping. However, we never get green chillies and this has been continuing for more than 3 to 4 months. That’s why nowadays we are consuming only dried chillies,” said Norbu, the Mess Secretary of Dagana Rabdey.
According to vegetable vendors, they could only bring it from Lhamoi Dzingkha but the price is too high. This has discouraged them to keep the hot spice in their shops.
“It is very difficult for us to get green chillies. It is available in Lhamoi Dzingkha but out there the price is Nu 600 per kg which is very expensive. When we buy from there we have to include the taxi fare whereby ultimately we have to sell at about Nu 700 to Nu 750 which becomes very much expensive for our customers,” said Bishnu Maya Yezon Tamang, a Shopkeeper in Dagana.
However, according to the District Agriculture Sector, the problem was never reported to them.
“The issue regarding the shortage of green chillies has never reached us and that is the very reason why the problem remained unsolved. We do have the solution to this but we never knew about it. First of all, we need to distribute the product within the Dzongkhag itself and then only distribute it to other Dzongkhags if there are any left,” said Devi Charan Bhandari, the Senior Agriculture Officer in Dagana.
He also said the vegetable dealers are briefed on how the distribution of green chillies should be done prioritising the district.
The hot spice will soon find its way back to the menu in Dagana since the sector is encouraging the farmers in the gewogs of Lhamoi Dzingkha Dungkhag to grow winter chillies because of the favourable climate there. The Dzongkhag Administration expects to produce more than 500 tonnes of winter chillies from the district which will hit the market any time.
Karma Wangdi, Dagana
Edited by Sonam
