The prices of several vegetables have shot up in Calcutta over the past 10 days because of a supply crunch that traders said was a result of heavy rain that damaged crops in south Bengal.

The prices of onions, cucumber, brinjal, green chilly, cabbage, pumpkin and ladies finger have increased between Rs 10 and Rs 15 per kg during the period. Heavy rain in south Bengal has destroyed crops in the fields and pushed prices up, vegetable sellers in the city said.

The Alipore Met office said Bengal had received more than usual rain in July. In the first week of August, too, the downpour was more than usual.

A member of the state government’s task force on prices of essential commodities said the vegetable prices would remain high for at least another fortnight. Not just the rain, the member said, the rising diesel price, too, is responsible for pushing up vegetable prices.

A resident of Behala’s Bakultala, who buys vegetables from the Calcutta Municipal Corporation-run market near his home, recounted his experience: “I purchased pointed gourds for Rs 35 a kg just 10 days back. Today, the price was Rs 45 a kg. Brinjal sold for Rs 45 a kg 10 days ago. Today, the price was Rs 60.”

Soumen Das, a retailer at a CMC market in Kasba’s Jadavgarh, echoed the Behala resident. “The price of onion has risen by Rs 5 a kilo. Cabbage costs Rs 50 a kg, up from Rs 40,” Das said.

Heavy rain lashed large parts of Howrah, Hooghly, East and West Midnapore, and North and South 24-Parganas over the past few days. A large chunk of the vegetables consumed in Calcutta are sourced from these districts.

“The heavy rain and the floods caused by it across south Bengal have destroyed enormous quantities of crops. The fields have been flooded. Supply has been hit though there is no shortage yet,” said Rabindranath Koley, a member of the state government’s task force on essential commodities.