Nizamabad : Onion prices bring tears
People urge officials to conduct raids on godowns in ctiy
By : DC Correspondent
Update: 2015-06-30 06:36 GMT
NIZAMABAD: Scarcity of both red and white onions has pushed up its price in the last few days in Telangana state, especially in Nizamabad district. In retail market, onions are being sold at '40 per kg. Usually, the price ranges from Rs 10 to Rs 20 per kg.
Onion is mainly sown in Dichpally, Nizamabad, Jakranpally and Dhar-pally mandals in the district. In addition, onion is brought here from Maharashtra and other parts of the country. Interestingly, people of Nizamabad prefer to consume white onions over the red ones. Hotels, restaurants and other eateries also use only white onions for salad.
Wholesale traders bought large quantity of onions from Nasik in Maharashtra. Local produce is sufficient to meet demand of onions in January through April. Rest of the year, retail traders procure onions from other parts of the country.
Speaking to this newspaper, Lakshmi, an housewife, said that they have curtailed usage of onions in their day to day cooking recently. “We have purchased only little quantity of onions for specific dishes,” she said. She recalled that during NDA regime in early 2000s onion prices had skyrocketed. Both the state and central governments should regulate prices of vegetables, particularly onions, she opined.
On the other hand, few traders have been hoarding onions in huge amounts to create artificial scarcity. Taking advantage of the gap between demand and supply of onions, few traders are trying to hoard stocks. People are urging civil supplies and marketing department officials to conduct raids on godowns and release the onions to stabilise prices.