Visakhapatnam: Vadas shrink as costs of essentials shoot up

Visakhapatnam: Idlis turn smaller, dosas and chapatis have become thinner and the size of vadas shrinks. The budget for those who are used to satiating their breakfast pangs by lining up at the nearest food joint has certainly gone up. While the increase in roadside eateries varies from Rs 5 to Rs 20 per plate, it is over Rs 30 or even more in bigger hotels.

A plate of idli in star hotels earlier was over Rs 60 approximately but now it costs Rs 90. In some restaurants, it is Rs 120. Several eateries are left with no other choice than to devise means to keep the business afloat and ensure profit margin remains intact. Even during the Corona pandemic, Subbayalu Deenadayalan did not consider revising the menu. But now, he says the exercise is inevitable. "Keeping the inflation in view, we have revised the menu.

However, each item on the menu has only been increased to Rs 5," reasons Deenadayalan of Sri Kanaka Durga Parlour at Saraswathi Park. However, some of the tiffin operators continue to cater to the price-conscious clientele. "Despite an abnormal rise in the price of essentials, we did not consider revising the menu as it will not go down well among our customers. Currently, we are continuing with the same cost," says Naidu of Sruthi Tiffins at R&B junction.

Although the menu remains to be the same, some of the restaurateurs decided to reduce the quantity of the portions served and size of the dosas and vadas to make up for the increased ingredients' cost. Being suffocated under the impact of surge in prices and hike in taxes, the common man finds the going tough. "There will always be a variation in the commodities' rate. But when the price drops, will the eateries reintroduce an economical menu that matches up with the current pricing?" wonders B Suresh Babu, a private employee. In some of the hotels, signboards were kept alerting that there will not be any second helping of curries and no extra chutney for tiffins.