Delhiites got partial relief from spiralling onion prices with the political class getting into a competition to sell onions at cheaper prices. The Delhi BJP which has been selling onions at Rs 40 per kg since last week sold the commodity at Rs 25 a kg on Sunday.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) too joined the fray selling onions for Rs 40 per kg. However, the Delhi Government has been providing this essential kitchen ingredient between Rs 50 to 55 per kg through its stalls and mobile vans at 1,000 points across the city. Meanwhile, the prices of onions in the retail market continue to vary between Rs 60 to 80 per kg even as the wholesale prices settled between Rs 50 to 55 per kg depending on the quality.
The government has been selling onions on a ‘no profit no loss’ basis. The Delhi BJP, led by its president Vijay Goel, on Sunday set up its stall at Town Hall in the Capital and sold onions at Rs 25 per kg. This attempt by the party drew scores of people early at 8 in the morning to stock up on the currently most pricey vegetable in the market. Goel accused the Government of failing to tackle the crisis effectively as he alleged that onions being sold at government outlets were of substandard quality and not fit for consumption.
“It is the duty of the government to regulate prices and ensure the smooth supply of essential commodities. Prices of all essential commodities have skyrocketed due to corruption and gross inefficiency of the government,” said Goel. The party also highlighted that there had been only a slight dip in the production of onions, which the black-marketer took advantage of and hoarded the vegetable.
“There is no impact visible on the ground. Most of the 1,000 outlets which the government claimed will distribute onions are not even visible. Even the quality of onions at these stalls is poor. It is appalling the way Delhi government first mismanaged the onion crisis and is now expressing its helplessness to control prices,” he alleged.
The BJP president also demanded removal of Delhi Food and Civil Supplies Minister Haroon Yusuf for his failure to curb the rise in onion prices. Meanwhile, AAP candidate from Ballimaran, Farhana Anjum set up several stalls across her constituency and sold onions sourced from various mandis of Delhi like Azadpur and Ghazipur at Rs 40 per kg. Nearly 10 stalls were set up in different areas of Ballimaran like Nabi Karim, Gali Tel Mel, Multani Handa etc for this purpose. “Onion is an essential commodity and its price affects the day-to-day life of the common man,” said Anjum.
It may be noted that with onion prices shooting through the roof, Delhi government has facilitated selling of the kitchen staple at around Rs 50 per kg at 1,000 points across the city from Saturday morning. A total of 150 mobile vans have been deployed to sell onion across the city with each of the vehicles visiting four places in a locality, which means coverage of 600 points. Besides this, the vegetable is also made available at a total of 400 stores, including 280 Mother Dairy outlets.