Delhi government to sell onions at Rs 24/kg
NEW DELHI: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said his government is procuring onions and will sell them at cheaper prices in fair price shops and mobile vans.
Kejriwal said the AAP government will offer relief to consumers troubled by the soaring price of onions.
"We are procuring onions and we will try to supply it at Rs 24 (per kg) through mobile vans. Tenders have been floated for this," the chief minister said on Monday during a press meet
Onion prices in Delhi touched Rs 57 per kg on Monday, as per the data maintained by the consumer affairs ministry. On Sunday, the Centre said it it was looking into ways to reduce the hike in the price of the crop. Retail prices have increased in the national capital as well as and other parts of the country due to disruption in supply in wake of heavy monsoon rains in the in several states.
Kejriwal's statement comes at a time when prices of the key kitchen staple has shot up to Rs 70-80 per kg in the national capital and other parts of the country owing to supply disruption in the wake of excess monsoon rains in the major growing states. A news the report stated the prices to be at a record four year high.
"We are about to take a step regarding the shooting onion prices here. We are procuring onions and we'll try to supply them to the maximum areas across the city via mobile vans. Tenders have been floated for the transportation of onions. I believe we will start supplying at the soonest," said Kejriwal during a press conference here.
Earlier this week, the retail price of onion shot up to Rs 70 per kilogram in the capital due to a reduced supply of the crop owing to incessant rains and floods in many parts of the country.
According to Rajendra Sharma, a wholesaler in Azadpur Mandi, said: "The demand is exceeding the supply. Heavy rainfall in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan has resulted in the increase of onion prices in Delhi."
"In the past seven days, the wholesale price of onion's different varieties ranges from Rs 25 to Rs 47," Sharma said.
In Patna, the retail price of onion has also shot up to Rs 60.
With prices of onions seeing a surge for the past few weeks, the Union government had imposed a
minimum export price of
USD 85 per metric ton last week. The move is expected to curb onion exports and bring down the price in the domestic market. On Monday, Delhi Food and Civil Supplies Minister Imran Hussain had held a meeting with senior
officers of his department to tackle the issue. Hussain directed the officers to take "immediate corrective action" like making field inspections in order to check instances of hoarding, black-marketing and profiteering.
