Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has instructed all district collectors to keep a close watch on the stocking of onions and potatoes by unscrupulous traders. They have been asked to take stringent action against hoarders to check the rising prices of the two edibles.
In a letter to the Collectors, Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Department, Commissioner-cum-Secretary VV Yadav asked them to keep close watch on the price and availability of onion in the market. The letters were sent Thursday.
Price of onion however, continues to remain high with it being sold at Rs 100 per kilogram in some parts of Odisha.
Collectors have been asked to carry out raids in case of hoardings. They have also been asked to verify how the onion retailers are acquiring the staple diet and for how many days they are hoarding the material. Officials have been asked to check bills and other documents to prevent illegal hoarding of onions.
The department also suggested the district collectors to take help of market intelligence and civil supply field officers for conducting raids on a regular basis.
Expressing concern over the hike of onion prices in the retail market Yadav said, “Odisha is facing shortage of onion due to crop loss for the floods in August. We are trying to solve the issue and bring the prices down as quickly as possible,” Yadav said.
PNN