Facing crisis,Delhi govt to sell onion at Rs 50 a kg at 1,000 points in mobile vans

Related: Govt looking at ways to stabilise onion price

Besides this,the vegetable will be made available at a total of 400 stores,including 280 Mother Dairy outlets.

“Onions will be made available at around Rs 50 per KG at 1,000 points across the city. We are selling onions on no-profit no-loss basis,” Food and Supplies Minister Harun Yusuf told the Press Trust of India.

Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit,facing assembly elections after three months,is concerned about the high prices of onion and has told the Food and Supplies Department to come down hard on those hoarding the vegetable.

Related: Onion price touches 60 a kg in Delhi

BJP was voted out of power in 1998 in Delhi following spiralling onion prices.

Onions are selling at Rs 70-80 a kg in most areas of the city. At Azadpur mandi in Delhi,onion prices remain at the previous level of Rs 50-55 per kg.

In the wholesale market of Lasalgaon (Nashik),Asia’s largest onion mandi,pricess eased by about Rs 2 to Rs 44 a kg on increased arrivals,according to data maintained by the National Horticultural Research and Development Foundation (NHRDF).

At a high-level meeting,Dikshit today discussed ways and means to contain rising onion prices. The meeting was attended by Yusuf,Development Minister Raj Kumar Chauhan who looks after functioning of wholesale vegetable markets,Chairman (NAFED) Bijender Singh,Chief Secretary D M Spolia and Food and Suplies Commissioner S S Yadav.

“The city government is taking all possible measures to ensure adequate supply of onions,” said Yusuf.

Dikshit has asked the departments concerned to keep a close a eye on the prices and availability of essential commodities including onions,pulses,sugar,tomatoes and potatoes.

She had earlier this week asked Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar to curtail export of the vegetable to stabilise its rate.

Sources said government is likely to sell potato and tomato at “reasonable rates also” through the mobile vans.

“She instructed strict and swift action against hoarders of essential commodities including onions”,Yusuf said.

Sensing an opportunity to use rising onion prices to its advantage ahead of Delhi assembly elections,the Delhi BJP has accused the government of failing to take steps to stabilise the rates.