Price rise: women tie vegetable rakhis on PM, Rahul’s photos

SEETAMADHI - Women here drove home the issue of price rise on Raksha Bandhan festival Tuesday by tying special rakhis made with vegetables and pulses on photographs of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

In Seetamadhi town of Bhadohi district, some 250 km from capital Lucknow, a large number of women prepared rakhis out of vegetables, fruits, spices and foodgrains. They also held prayers to contain inflation.

“We are sure that Manmohanji (Manmohan Singh) and Rahul Gandhi will come to know about the special rakhis made by us and would take immediate measures to solve the problems faced by their sisters (the women) because of rising prices,” Vineeta Singh, a housewife and resident of the Jangeeganj area, told reporters Tuesday in Bhadohi.

The special rakhis were made by cutting parwals, potatoes, lauki and other vegetables in varied shapes and sizes, held together by multi-coloured threads.

Grapes, cloves, cardamom and a number of spices were used to beautify the rakhis.

“We believe the special rakhis would definitely convey our feelings to both of them…They would definitely do something for their sisters who have to face several problems while mandating the budget of their homes at a time when edible items are recording a price-hike every now and then,” said Rita Chaubey, another housewife and resident of Seetamadhi.

Some of the women in the town said they had even sent rakhis made from edibles to the prime minister and Rahul Gandhi.

Another woman, Preetu Kashyap, said: “The rakhis that were sent to them by post were made from black cardamom, pieces of dry fruits and several spices.”

“We hope the prime minister and Rahul Gandhi would definitely gift us something - probably by making a serious effort to contain inflation,” she said.