Onion prices will stabilise soon: Delhi govt

Obviously BJP govt's downfall in 1998 attributed to an onion crisis not too distant a memory for Congress camp

As onion prices touched a record Rs 80 a kg, the Delhi government on Tuesday said there was no crisis. According to the government, “temporary shortage” was driving prices and this would be resolved ”within a week”.

“Onion prices are fluctuating because the product is not reaching Delhi,” said Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit. The state government has assured onions from Rajasthan will soon hit Delhi markets, bringing down the prices.

“Due to the excessive rainfall in south India, onion stocks from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh have been affected. So, there is a shortage in the market,” Raj Kumar Chouhan, a minister in the Dikshit government, told Business Standard.

Chouhan claimed there was no hoarding. He said 18 trucks with 200 tonnes of onion reached Delhi three days ago.

He added on a regular basis, 75 to 80 trucks carrying 1,100 tonnes of onion arrived in the capital every day.

In 1998, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party lost the Delhi Assembly elections to the Congress due to high onion prices, among other reasons — onion had touched Rs 60 a kg then. The Congress has ruled Delhi ever since.

Keeping in mind the ramifications of high onion prices, the Delhi government is trying hard to bring things under control. On Tuesday, Dikshit held a meeting with all stakeholders concerned. The government is now pinning its hopes on onion stocks from Rajasthan “which would stabilise prices”.

According to Delhi government sources, the government, if need be, could resort to selling onion through mobile vans - something it did just two months ago. When onion prices skyrocketed in August, the Delhi government sold onion at Rs 50 a kg from 1,000 points across the capital in mobile vans.