Chhattisgarh govt asks collectors to ensure availability of onions

Raipur: In view of the rising prices of onions in Chhattisgarh, the state government has directed all district collectors to ensure sufficient supply of the kitchen staple in their areas and monitoring of its rates, an official said on Friday.

On the direction of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, the state Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection Department on Thursday issued detailed guidelines to the collectors for monitoring the availability of onion in their respective districts and its wholesale and retail prices, the public relations department official said.

"The analysis of market prices of essential commodities in the districts by the state-level price monitoring cell indicated that the retail prices of onions witnessed an unprecedented hike in the last one month. Hence, all collectors have been asked to take steps to control the spike in their respective districts," he said.

The collectors have also been directed to call a meeting of all wholesalers and retailers of onions and after assessing its availability and demand, they should ensure its sufficient supply in the market, the official said.

They were also asked to carry out regular review of daily consumption and supply of onions at the district level and immediately address any problems found related to the supply and transportation of onion from other states and its storage, he added.

Wholesalers will have to display information regarding the stock of onions and its prices at their facilities on a dailybasis, he said.

(PTI)