Govt breaks out in sweat over soaring price of onions
17 Sept 2013 5:58 AM IST
Once again the price of onions has shot up in the national capital, with the price of the vegetable hovering around Rs 70 per kg. With the Assembly polls around the corner, the spiralling price of onion may negatively impact the popularity of the Congress-led city government. In a damage-control exercise, the city government has compared the present crisis with the onion crisis during the BJP rule in 1998.
‘In 1998 the price of onion had reached Rs 100 per kg. The situation now in under control and if required we would depute more door-to-door vans to sell onions at cheaper rates. The problem at present is because the supply of onions has been effected due to heavy rains in Karnataka and Ganeshotsava’ celebration in Maharashtra. We are selling onions at cheaper rates at five places in the national capital, including the Delhi secretariat parking,’ development minister Raj Kumar Chauhan said. The demand of essential cooking items are expected to soar during the on-going festive season that started with Ganesh Chaturthi and will include Navratri, Durga Puja, Bakr-Eid and Diwali, triggering further price rise.
However, Chauhan’s claim of the government supplying onions at lower prices fell flat on its face, as onions were not available at the Delhi government stall at the parking of Delhi Secretariat. The government had launched mobile vans to sell onions at 1,000 places in the city when the price of onion crossed Rs 80 per kg. The rates came down to Rs 40-50 between mid-August to early September and the government and other political parties stopped selling onions at cheaper rates. The average wholesale price in the country's largest wholesale onion market, Lasalgaon APMC, hovered at a record high of Rs 4,800 per quintal in the first week of this month. The unprecedented price rise is attributed to a sudden decline in regular supplies.
‘In 1998 the price of onion had reached Rs 100 per kg. The situation now in under control and if required we would depute more door-to-door vans to sell onions at cheaper rates. The problem at present is because the supply of onions has been effected due to heavy rains in Karnataka and Ganeshotsava’ celebration in Maharashtra. We are selling onions at cheaper rates at five places in the national capital, including the Delhi secretariat parking,’ development minister Raj Kumar Chauhan said. The demand of essential cooking items are expected to soar during the on-going festive season that started with Ganesh Chaturthi and will include Navratri, Durga Puja, Bakr-Eid and Diwali, triggering further price rise.
However, Chauhan’s claim of the government supplying onions at lower prices fell flat on its face, as onions were not available at the Delhi government stall at the parking of Delhi Secretariat. The government had launched mobile vans to sell onions at 1,000 places in the city when the price of onion crossed Rs 80 per kg. The rates came down to Rs 40-50 between mid-August to early September and the government and other political parties stopped selling onions at cheaper rates. The average wholesale price in the country's largest wholesale onion market, Lasalgaon APMC, hovered at a record high of Rs 4,800 per quintal in the first week of this month. The unprecedented price rise is attributed to a sudden decline in regular supplies.
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