Manipal: As the academic year comes to a close, the sale and correspondingly the prices of empty cartons have sky-rocketed inside the Manipal Institute of Technology (MIT) campus.
Cartons, otherwise free or of little cost, are being sold for high prices of Rs. 50 and Rs. 60 in the last few days. Prakash Hegde, a shopkeeper at the Campus Store in MIT campus, explained that it is an annual feature of the shop. “Students need cartons for packing, which we do not require usually. If somebody is buying it, it is better than the cartons going to waste,” he commented.
The student community however were unanimous in their opinion that the prices were too high. The surge in prices appears to be only inside the campus as stores near Tiger Circle were selling cartons for cheaper prices of Rs. 20 and Rs. 30. The use of cartons to store items in the hostels is prohibited from next year with students asked to use metal trunks instead.