Cuttack: Even though the government has maintained that it has taken all possible measures to rein in onion price rise, retail price of the key kitchen staple has gradually shot up to Rs 90 per kg in the millennium city and other parts of Odisha.
State food supplies and consumer welfare secretary VV Yadav has cited supply disruption due to crop loss in the procuring States as one of the reasons.
“Rising prices do not affect rich people. The sufferers belong to the middle-class. For us, onion price between Rs 15-20 per kg is affordable. When per kg price goes beyond that, we cannot buy or either daily consumption decreases,” said a homemaker in Cuttack, Sandhyarani Khatua.
On the other hand, the traders are of the opinion that onion price is very likely to come down after arrival of fresh stock post Diwali.
“Prices in Mumbai have touched Rs 100 per kg. Even per kg rate in Nashik has gone up. If government here doesn’t take adequate steps, this uptrend will continue at least till Diwali,” said Sudhakar Panda, Secretary of the traders’ union.
Meanwhile, the secretary of the food supplies department has asked the Collectors to keep a close watch on the price and availability of onion in the market.
“The rising trend in price of onion in the open market is a concern which affects common man. Although it is a national phenomenon, the unscrupulous traders may resort to high profiteering and sell onion at an exorbitant price. You are therefore requested to keep close watch on the price and availability of onion in the market and utilize the services of the field functionaries to frequently inspect both the wholesale and retail business premises on regular basis and ensure its availability at reasonable prices to the needy consumers,” mentioned Yadav in his letter to the Collectors.