Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare on Monday said that the government was working to bring onion supplies to cool prices, as Congress slammed the centre for “skyrocketing” inflation.
Khare told news agency PTI that the government has started moving bulk onion stocks through dedicated railway rakes – the 'Kanda Express' – from Nashik in Maharashtra to major consuming centres, as part of efforts to augment supplies and check the seasonal rise in prices.
She also said that the buffer onion stock will be released in mandis and retail markets across five major consuming centres and is expected to reach the identified centres by Wednesday.
"Initially, the onion will be supplied to five major consumption centres, namely Chennai, Madurai, Delhi, Ernakulam and Guwahati, with additional destinations to be included subsequently based on emerging market requirements," Khare said.
This comes as the Congress attacked the union government over prices and asked the Narendra Modi government, which it said claims to have ushered in "achche din," to explain how the poor and middle class make ends meet.
The Consumer Affairs Secretary said that the buffer onion will be sold at a subsidised rate of ₹35 per kilogram in select consuming centres. She also said that onion mandi prices in Nashik were higher than in Delhi, blaming “cartelisation and speculation” for the price rise.
{{/usCountry}}The Consumer Affairs Secretary said that the buffer onion will be sold at a subsidised rate of ₹35 per kilogram in select consuming centres. She also said that onion mandi prices in Nashik were higher than in Delhi, blaming “cartelisation and speculation” for the price rise.
{{/usCountry}}Data maintained by the ministry shows the all-India average retail price of onion rose 59 per cent year-on-year to ₹43.53/kg on August 24, from ₹27.37/kg a year ago. The average wholesale price was up 68 per cent to ₹35.58/kg, against ₹21.23/kg in the year-ago period.
Among major cities, retail onion prices on Monday stood at ₹60/kg in Chennai ( ₹33 a year ago), ₹55/kg in Delhi ( ₹35 a year ago), and ₹53/kg in Kolkata.
Congress's skyrocketing inflation charge
Congress general secretary in charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, shared a media report stating that onion prices, like sugar, are also experiencing a sharp rise.
The media report shared by Ramesh claimed that onion prices have risen by approximately 76 per cent in just one month in the Nashik market. It also claimed that wholesale prices have doubled in some states.
"Under the Modi government's rule, inflation is skyrocketing today. On one side, there's unemployment; on the other, people who have been working for years are losing their jobs. Meanwhile, the inflation bomb keeps exploding relentlessly," Ramesh said in Hindi on X.
"After sugar, now onions too are slipping out of the common man's reach. In just a month, onion prices have surged by up to 76%, wholesale rates in states have doubled, and the government's buffer stock lies empty. Milk, oil, fruits, and rations - all are becoming unaffordable for the average person," the Congress leader said.
The Modi government, which claims to have ushered in the "achche din", should explain how the poor and middle class are supposed to make ends meet, Ramesh said.
Earlier on Saturday, the Congress accused the central government of failing to control rising prices of essential commodities and said the public will "remember this and will not forgive."
Ramesh claimed that from soap to cars, from spices to flour, rice, sugar, and oil, inflation has broken the back of the common man.
"Due to the Modi government's wrong policies, the common people are being crushed due to rising inflation, and the middle class's household budget has completely gone haywire. Income is limited, but the kitchen expenses keep rising every month. The direct impact of inflation is now falling on the common man's plate and daily expenses," he said last week on X.