Onion crisis

Once during Vajpayee Government, we had onion crisis in the country. This is the second time that the price of onion has crossed all limits. In several cities, it is as high as eighty rupees per kilogram. The Central Government has directed the states to enforce vigilance against stockists and hoarders who are creating artificial price rise. In particular, the Maharashtra Government has been told to keep an eye on the market and not allow suppliers to create artificial scarcity. This is somewhat ambiguous step because the Central Government has not specified the causes of price rise of onions. Is there any blockage in supply chain? Is there shortage owing to export of onions? Is there only hoarding or is the Rabi crop from the southern states still not reaching the markets? We would like to know the real reasons of sudden price rise. At the same time, State Government should take effective measures to bring the prices to normal level. If the reason is only artificial price rise, then the Government should come down with a heavy hand against the miscreants and stockist. Why has not it been done so far? There seems to be something fishy about the artificial short supply and artificial price rise in the entire affair and we would like the Government to conduct a survey and ensure such phenomenon are not repeated in future.

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