Nashik: Concerned over the spiralling onion prices, the revenue and cooperatives departments surveyed hundreds of godowns owned by onion traders in the district and discovered stocks of 1,38,217 quintals onion valued at approximately Rs 76 crores.
The district supply officer had directed all tehsildars to conduct the survey in their areas on Saturday. The largest stock of 61,288 quintals was from Niphad tehsil.
The Centre also asked the Maharashtra government to take strict action against hoarders in order to improve supply at Lasalgaon wholesale market.
“We have written a letter to the Maharashtra chief secretary expressing concern over rising prices. We have asked that officials be sent to Lasalgaon to check onion availability and take adequate measures against hoarders,” consumer affairs secretary C. Vishwanath told reporters in New Delhi. Wholesale onion prices at Lasalgaon have increased to around Rs 60 per kg now as against Rs 15-16 per kg last year, as per the official data.
Union food and consumer affairs minister Ram Vilas Paswan on Monday reviewed the onion prices and directed the officials of his department as well as the agriculture department to take “quick action” to bring prices under control.
While the government surveyed onions in godowns, thieves broke into a farm in Nandgaon and stole 1,800 kg onions. This comes a day after a Wadala vendor reported a theft of about 700 kg onions from his handcarts.
Nandgaon police confirmed that thieves broke into the onion chawl of farmer Abasaheb Keshrao Pawar in Deshmukh wadi of Pimpalkher village. Pawar had gone to the fields on Saturday, when he discovered that his chawl had been broken.
