UT seeks Centre’s help as onion prices soar further

Ramkrishan Upadhyay
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, December 3

With no respite from the soaring prices of onion, the UT Administration has sought the help of the Government of India to overcome the crisis.

The rate of onion increased further today. Quality onion is available for over Rs 100 a kg in the retail market.

Sources said the UThad written to the Centre seeking its intervention to keep the onion prices under check. It had requested that the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) should be asked to ensure adequate supply of onion for the city.

An official said earlier the UTAdministration had planned to set up stalls at various places in the city to sell onion at cheaper rates, but due to the unprecedented high prices of the commodity, it was not possible to provide onion at affordable prices now.

He said the wholesale rates of onion were very high. There was no meaning in providing onion on a no-profit-no-loss basis at such high rates. Traders at the Sector 26 fruit and vegetable market said the supply of onion had reduced further today.

Anuj Kumar, a trader, said there was no possibility of the supply getting normalised in the next one week. He said the city was getting insufficient stock of onion from Nashik, Rajasthan and Indore. The wholesale rates have increased further and have touched Rs 80 and 90 a kg.