Sopan Shankar Jagtap of Belsar village -- known for its tomatoes -- in Purandar taluka usually sows the vegetable in June and July on a part of his nine-acre land. But with rain disappearing this year, he did not bother with the sowing. His land is lying barren, as is the condition of nearly 300 acres where tomatoes are grown in this village.

This does not augur well for Pune's tomato supply. Narayangaon, the other tomato-growing hub, is fighting water scarcity as well. Everyday, around 200 tonnes of tomatoes land at the Agriculture Marketing Produce Committee (APMC) market at Gultekdi, which may well stop arriving two weeks down the line because of the present break in the monsoon.

Dealers at the APMC market informed that the price line of Rs 5-6 per kg in wholesale (around Rs 10 in retail) for tomatoes will not hold for long. This may well be the story for other vegetables as well as sowing of crops, including vegetables, has not really succeeded in most parts of the district with no dam releasing water for irrigation purposes.

"The tomato crop, which is sown by June in some parts, begins arriving from the first week of August. Because of the water scarcity this year everywhere, including Koregaon and Kumte in Satara, there will be a shortage in the coming months. Pune is dependent on parts of Satara, the Narayangaon-Manchar-Chakan-Rajgurunagar belt and Shikrapur on Nagar Road for tomatoes, none of which have had much of rain this time around," said APMC market tomato and onion dealer Ganesh Shedge. He said that the prices of onions have already increased in the past 15 days to Rs 11 per kg in wholesale and Rs 15 per kg in retail.

Pune depends on Purandar taluka for peas as well, the supply of which is expected to be affected, said former APMC President Shekar Kunjeer. "However, even if there are rains in the next fortnight, some amount of sowing can take place although it will take three months for it to harvest," he explained.

Some vegetables like potatoes and cabbage may come from Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka respectively and help meet demand. If there is supply from these states in future, cauliflower prices may increase, Shedge said. "Green chillies, too, may come from Indore.

During the kharif season, some amount of beans also comes from outside. However, it depends on supply and demand conditions a couple of weeks down the line, when we will know," said another APMC market dealer Ramdas Gaikwad.