Indore, Jun 27: The prices of tomatoes have shot up to Rs 110 per kg in Madhya Pradesh's Indore due to drop in supply of the kitchen staple, a stakeholder said on Tuesday.

Vegetable vendors and wholesalers have blamed the rains for the disruption in supply, causing prices of tomatoes to skyrocket in retail markets of many cities.

These days, tomatoes are only being supplied from Maharashtra, while Rajasthan has stopped its supply following crop damages due to rains, Sunderdas Makhija, president of vegetable vendors' association at Indore's Devi Ahilyabai Holkar Sabzi Mandi told PTI.

"The wholesale price of tomato has reached Rs 70 to 80 per kg, while in the retail market, the price is as high as Rs 110 per kg," Makhija said.

One of the customers at the market, Santosh Meena said, "Our income is not increasing, but inflation is continuously on the rise. I paid Rs 80 per kg for tomatoes, which were once being sold at Rs 20 per kg."

The spurt in prices of tomato is a temporary seasonal phenomenon and rates will cool down soon, a top government official said as retail prices of the kitchen staple shot up to Rs 100 per kg in major cities.

"It is a highly perishable commodity. Transportation gets affected in areas that received sudden rains. It is a temporary issue. Prices will cool down soon. It happens every year during this time," Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh told PTI.

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Raebareli (UP) (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday attended a meeting of the District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committee (DISHA), inaugurated a beautification project and laid the foundation stone for the construction of roads in his parliamentary constituency here in Uttar Pradesh.

On the way to Raebareli, the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha paid obeisance at a Hanuman temple at Churwa and met party workers.

Soon after his arrival here, Gandhi inaugurated a beautification project undertaken by the municipal corporation in Raebareli at the Degree College intersection.

Subsequently, the Congress leader later laid the foundation stone for road-construction projects under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) and then attended the DISHA meeting.

The meeting focused on various public welfare issues, including schemes such as MGNREGA, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and others, officials said.

Gandhi presided over the meeting with administrative officials.

A blueprint for the development of the district was prepared at the meeting and central schemes were reviewed.

This was Gandhi's first meeting with local officials since becoming an MP.

According to the Union Ministry for Rural Development, DISHAs were formed to ensure better coordination among members of Parliament, state legislatures and local governments.

Gandhi left for Lucknow after the meeting.

Later, Uttar Pradesh minister Dinesh Pratap Singh showed a poster to reporters. In the poster, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader took potshots at Gandhi for spending less time in his constituency.

"It has been more than six months, the MP (Gandhi) has not spent a night in his constituency," he said.

"In the last six months, (Gandhi spent) only five hours. Then in five years, it will be 50 hours. It means in five years, only two days?" the poster, titled "Raebareli ke Rahulji", said, requesting the Congress leader to spend a night in his constituency.