Fifth 'Kanda Express' to reach Delhi by November 21, says Centre

The Centre, on Tuesday, said that a fifth shipment of 720 metric tonnes (MT) of onions from Nashik is likely to reach Delhi by Thursday. This is part of the government’s ongoing measures to ensure price stabilisation.

 

The fourth shipment—of 840 MT of onions from the government’s buffer—arrived at Kishan Ganj Railway Station in Delhi on the morning of November 17.

 

From this shipment, “500 MT of onions have been allocated to Mother Dairy, 190 MT to NCCF, and 150 MT to NAFED for retail sale across Delhi-NCR at Rs 35 per kg,” the government said in an official statement.

 

Apart from Delhi, bulk shipments of onions were also sent to Chennai in October and to Guwahati in early November.

 

“Another shipment of 840 MT by rail rake to Guwahati, Assam is planned for this week. This will augment the availability of onions in the northeast region and stabilise onion prices in the region,” the government said.

 

Further, one more shipment of 840 MT by rail rake to Amausi, Lucknow, is expected in another two to three days, with loading set to begin on Wednesday.

 

Additionally, the government has also decided to offload onions kept in cold storage at Sonipat to meet the requirements of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Delhi.

 

“The government is alive to market developments and is keeping a close watch to take ameliorative action to stabilise onion prices,” the statement added.