Delhi government opens 350 outlets to sell onions at reasonable price

With onion prices soaring, Delhi government on Thursday started selling the vegetable at reasonable rates at 350 outlets across the city to provide relief to citizens. Onions have been made available between Rs 32 and Rs 35 per kg against the market rate of around Rs 45-50 a kg. Potato has also been made available at the outlets at Rs 12 per kg.

Development Minister Raj Kumar Chouhan, who looks after functioning of wholesale vegetable and fruit markets in the city, said onions at "reasonable rate" have been made available at 280 Mother Dairy outlets besides 70 other stalls. "We are concerned about the rising prices of onion and that is why we have made available onion at reasonable rates at 350 outlets including 280 Mother Dairy outlets," he said.

Chouhan said there was no shortage of supply of onion in Delhi as against an average daily demand of 700 tonnes the city is getting a supply of around 900 tonnes of the vegetable. Food and Supplies Minister Harun Yusuf said government has decided to come down hard on the hoarders and black-marketeers of onion. "The supply of onions and potatoes were affected during monsoon. Due to heavy rain, the supply of onion from a number of onion producing states has affected causing the price rise. But now the supply has improved," Yusuf said after a high-level meeting with officials of his department.

Prices of onion have increased to Rs 45 to Rs 50 per kg in the retail market against Rs 20 per kg couple of weeks back. The price of onion had touched Rs 40 in retail markets in mid-July also but it had come down after supply was normalised. Onion, seen as a politically sensitive commodity, has disturbed kitchen budget of most consumers who are already facing the brunt of high prices of tomato, pulses and cereals.

Wholesale rate in Delhi's Azadpur market has increased to Rs 25-35 per kg, from Rs 18-28 per kg a week ago, Onion Merchant Traders Association President Surendra Budhiraj said. "Supplies from Lasalgoan in Maharastra and Rajasthan has come down substantially due to rains," he said. According to data maintained by National Horticultural Research and Development Foundation (NHRDF), wholesale prices in the Delhi and Lasalgoan have increased by around 50 per cent in the last one month.