500 people waited in line for hours on a weekday morning in Noida.

In no time, word had spread and around 500 people queued up on Friday morning to purchase subsidised tomatoes that the National Cooperative Consumers Federation of India’s (NCCF) office in Noida’s Sector 4 was selling.

NCCF officials maintained they will continue to sell tomatoes at subsidised rates in the coming days. Sumit Kumar, the officer in charge of tomato distribution at NCCF Noida, said the federation has been selling tomatoes in Noida, Delhi, Kanpur, Jaipur and other cities at subsidised rates for the past two weeks. “We get tomato supply from the Delhi head office every day. Earlier, we used to allow sale of 2kg per person, but the buyers have increased. We have started selling only 1kg per person now,” he said.

Rajendra Kumar, a resident of Sector 20 who had queued up runs a medical store in the neighbourhood. “On Thursday, a customer told me that NCCF is selling tomatoes at lower rates, so I came here. People have businesses and other engagements and it isn’t viable for us to stand in queue for tomatoes leaving everything behind. The government should check inflation and the rise of tomato prices,” he said.

Anil Saxena, a resident of Sector 19, said he waited for two hours. “They have sufficient stock but are allowing only 1kg per person. They should give at least two kilos each so that people need not come and stand in line every day,” he said.

A head constable of Noida police was also in the queue. “The price rise is affecting everyone. I was passing by and saw tomatoes being sold at a subsidised price, so I decided to buy some,” he said.

Sarojni, a resident of Sector 4, was sweating as she bought tomatoes. “The price hike has affected our kitchens. Tomatoes are sold for Rs 250-300 per kg in retail shops. Prices of other vegetables have also gone up. The government should check this,” she said.

Meanwhile, others who had lined up said the hike doesn’t matter to them. Rajbali Singh, who works in a private company, said he supports the government. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi is keeping a check on inflation. If Modi was not the PM, inflation in India would have matched that in Pakistan and Sri Lanka,” he said.

Sanjay Kumar, the secretary of Noida phool mandi, admitted that there is a gap in demand and supply of tomatoes. “The staple is sold for Rs 120 a kilo in the wholesale market. In retail shops, it is Rs 160-200 per kg. Tomatoes are being sourced from Bengaluru, and the transportation cost adds to the price. The rates will come down in a week as we are expecting supply from other areas,” he said.