Visibly upset over ever increasing food inflation in the country, Union Food and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has urged states to take steps to check hoarding and black-marketing of essential food commodities.

Addressing the state chief secretaries, Mr. Pawar said that rumors and speculations are also a leading cause of increase in prices of pulses, besides deficient rainfall across almost all geographical regions. He urged top bureaucrats to use their special powers to check black-marketing and hoarding and to make food items available at a reasonable price.

The minister added: "Unless effective steps are taken to prevent black-marketing and hoarding, we will not be able to control the price situation." The country has already imported 2.6 million tonnes of pulses, out of usual pulses import of 2.5-3 million tonnes, to maintain balance between demand and supply.

Meanwhile, criticizing the UPA government, the leader of the opposition, L K Advani said: "Though the government had won the mandate to protect the interests of the aam aadmi (common man), the aam admi is sad now."