The State Government on Friday claimed that it is keeping a close watch on the market as the price of onion has reached Rs 80 per kg against Rs 20 barely four months ago.
“The administration is keeping an eye on the traders who may cheat consumers in the name of enhanced onion price. The officials have been asked to take stringent action against unscrupulous traders,” Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Ranendra Prasad Swain said.
He said the Government has, meanwhile, opened 284 fair price shops in different parts of the State for supply of onion to consumers at an affordable price. Unseasonal rains have affected the onion cultivation in the Sates, from where this essential vegetable is imported, he said.
Meanwhile, members of the Chhatra Bazar Byabasai Sangha in Cuttack said that the price of onion could touch Rs 100 a kg as red onion stocks now hardly come from Nasik in Maharashtra. The price of red onion is Rs 7,000 per quintal, they said. The Government, on the other hand, expects that the onion price will come down once they are harvested in Kurnool and Gudum districts of Andhra Pradesh and Nasik.
While the onion is sold in Bhubaneswar at the price of Rs 80 to Rs 90 a kg, its price is Rs 70 to Rs 76 in Cuttack and Rs 80 in Baleswar, Brahmapur, Rourkela and Puri .