'Cheap' onion will be available before Diwali, 'Kanda Express' will control inflation from today, Modi government's great plan

New Delhi: In order to keep the rising prices of onion under control during the festive season of the country and to maintain the availability of onion in the market, the Consumer Ministry has now decided to run Kanda Express for the cities with high demand for onion. Please note that the government To control the rising onion prices in view of the festivals, 1,600 tonnes of onion from the buffer stock will be transported today for the first time from Maharashtra to Delhi through railways. This will be the first initiative to use rail for onion.

On this issue, the Consumer Ministry says that the reason behind the increase in onion prices are the hoarding traders who deliberately do not bring onions in the market. But with the arrival of government onions in the market, the prices of their onions will also fall.

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In this regard, a special train named 'Kanda Express' will leave from Lasalgaon railway station in Maharashtra and will reach Kishanganj railway station in Delhi today on 20th October. The government hopes this supply will help stabilize prices in Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR), where onion from the buffer stock is currently being sold at a subsidized rate of Rs 35 per kg.

At present, retail prices of onion have reached Rs 75 per kg in various cities of the country. “This is a historic initiative,” Khare said. He said similar arrangements would be made in Lucknow, Varanasi and north-eastern states including Assam, Nagaland and Manipur. The government is also in talks with logistics company Concorde for 'sealed container' transportation to reduce losses.

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Let us inform that, to reduce the wholesale prices, onion will be auctioned at the current market rates. In this regard, the cost of transportation of one train (equivalent to 56 trucks) from Nashik to Delhi by rail is Rs 70.20 lakh, while the cost by road is Rs 84 lakh. Thus, there is a saving of Rs 13.80 lakh per train.

Please note that since September 5, the government has launched the scheme in stores through various means including mobile vans, National Cooperative Consumer Federation of India (NCCF) and National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) shops, e-commerce platform, Mother Dairy's successful shops and central stores. The stored onions are being sold at discounted rates. Stepping up its action to bring down retail prices, the number of 'mobile vans' will be increased from 600 to 1,000 before Diwali.

At present, out of 4.7 lakh tonnes of onion buffer stock, 91,960 tonnes have been allocated to NCCF and NAFED. Whereas 86,000 tonnes have been sent to various states including Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa, Rajasthan, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Manipur. With these measures and the expected arrival of fresh crop from Maharashtra, the government is optimistic about price stabilization. The average purchase price of onion from the store is Rs 28 per kg.

At present, onion is being sold in the retail market between Rs 55 and Rs 80, while the Consumer Ministry is making the same onion available at Rs 35 through NCCF and NAFED. It is expected that before Diwali, the price of onion will soon start selling below Rs 35 in the retail market. (with agency input)