A rise in the prices of essential commodities has come as a jolt for those in festive mode.Despite the government’s word, the prices of sugar, cereals, pulses, spices and cooking oil have risen.While sugar, certain cereals and pulses have got costlier by over 20 per cent, spices remain in the below 5 per cent price bracket.For mustard oil, one will have to shell out Rs 15 more for a litre; and for refined oil, Rs 10 more.Buta Ram, a retailer, said: “The prices of essential items have gone through the roof. There’s a possibility of hoarding with the festive season around. One thing is clear that the government is not doing anything to check those leveraging the situation to their advantage.”Rahul Seth, a consumer, said the common man had no idea what to do with the surge. “It has become difficult to make ends meet,” he added.Sandeep Gupta, a leading retail grocer in the city and an office-bearer of the Punjab Karyana Retailers Association, said the hike made no sense at this point of time. “As it is the demand for cereals, pulses and lentils falls around winter, with vegetables replacing these.He said there was no dearth of edible oil, sugar, cereals, pulses and lentils in the city.“The government does not have any control over markets and investors are running the show,” he added.He procured sugar at a wholesale price of Rs 51.50 per kg on Thursday and today, its price surged to Rs 62 per kg.It is learnt that wholesalers are not selling essentials to retailers, expecting another surge within the next couple of days.Additional Director, the Department of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs, Punjab, who also looks after the price monitoring cell in the state, said the sugar price had increased across the state, adding that the department would check if any of the commodity was being hoarded.