Bhubaneswar: In a bitter news for sweet lovers, the famous Rasagola and other cheese products of Pahala in Odisha’s Cuttack district have turned costlier.
According to sources, traders of the sweet hub at Pahala have decided to hike the prices of different products after a long time due to inflationary effect on the ingredients like milk, cheese and sugar besides fuel. “We have been hard pressed in preparing Rasagola, Chhenapoda, Chhenagaja and other products at the present rate. As the costs of all ingredients have gone very high, we are forced to increase the prices of our products,” said Akshay Lenka, president of Pahala Rasagola Sangh.
Lenka further said the cost of cheese in the open market has gone up by around Rs 10 per kg. While some traders are producing cheese, the basic input for preparing sweet items, from cow milk of their farms, others are procuring it at high rate from the market. Preparing cheese from OMFED milk has also become a costly affair as the milk federation has jacked up the milk prices, he added.
The Sangh has effected increase in prices of cheese items from Thursday. Now, a piece of Rasagola, which used to cost Rs 5, comes for Rs 6. The Rs 10 per Rasgola is available at Rs 12 at Pahala shops.
Similarly, the price of Chhenagaja has been increased from Rs 150 per kg to Rs 180 and that of Chhenapoda from Rs 220 per kg to Rs 250, Lenka said.
However, Lenka refuted the allegation that the size of Rasagola and other times has been squeezed. “We neither compromise with the quality nor the size of the products sold in our kiosks at Pahala,” he said.
The Rasagola of Pahala is normally light brown in colour and softer than white Rasagolas of other places. The sweet piece also melts in mouth easily. Most people prefer to eat them hot, which gives best experience.
The Odisha Rasagola has been granted the GI tag by the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks of the Central government recently.
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