The bird flu scare has turned many of those who partake of meat to turn vegetarian. The price of chicken is swaying like a pendulum, and no one, even the meat vendors, know where it will settle tomorrow. The daring ones, bird flu or whatever, now can enjoy chicken meat at a cheaper price, which had at one time seemed to be following closely that of mutton. As is to be expected, it is now the turn of the price of vegetables to oscillate, but this time around only higher and higher with every passing day. This is due, in part, to the indefinite stir in the Tarai that has hit supplies in the Kathmandu Valley. Vegetables of one’s choice have now become a luxury item for the majority of cash-crunched valley residents. There is no saying how long this leap-frogging act will last.

The bird flu scare was like an ill omen that had severe repercussion on the price of vegetables with the disruption in their supplies. Health conscious vegetable eaters now have to reduce the quantity of this nutrient in their diet. Some beans are said to be more nutritious than meat. Knowing this cannot be of much help when they are getting out of reach now that vegetable prices are soaring with no signs of declining in the immediate future. In the meantime, it leads one to regret that the traditional farms of vegetables are now being eaten up by concrete jungles.