VIJAYAWADA: In order to compensate for the depleting onion stock of Kurnool variety, the Krishna district marketing officials procured 217 quintals of the vegetable from Solapur, Maharashtra on Saturday.
Right from 7 am, long serpentine queues were seen outside the Patamata Rythu Bazaar for buying subsidised onions. The officials concerned said that they were unable to control the crowds due to shortage of manpower. Vijayawada East MLA Gadde Rama Mohan and YSRC member Devineni Avinash visited the rythu bazaar and interacted with customers.
In Vijayawada, onions are being sold at retail markets for Rs 160 to Rs 200 per kg. At rythu bazaars in the city, their price is listed at Rs 42 per kg. However, the entire stock is being sold exclusively at subsidised stalls for a certain time period every day.
On Saturday, Patamata Rythu Bazaar received 100 bags of onions weighing around 5,000 kg and was made available to customers from 10 am.
Estate Officer of Patamata Rythu Bazaar V Koteswara Rao said, “We received 50 quintals of onions on Saturday. There was a massive crowd at the rythu bazaar for purchasing onions. The queue was over half a kilometre and we even provided drinking water to people standing in the line. We took the help of volunteers to control the crowd. We fear the rush won’t end anytime soon.”
Meanwhile, the public is requesting the officials concerned to provide at least two kg per person, as they are spending a lot of time standing in line.
B Parvathi, a homemaker who came to Patamata Rythu Bazaar said, “ I did not purchase onions for over 15 days fearing long queues. However, today I dared and came to market but had to stand in a line for almost an hour and a half. All I got is one kg of onions, which will not last more than two to three days for our family of five. The officials should consider the pain we are going through and at least provide two kg per person.”