BHUBANESWAR: Even as the Central government has undertaken aggressive marketing of onion in retail markets at subsidised Rs 25 per kg to protect consumers from price shock, no such move has yet been initiated by the state government.
National Agriculture Cooperative Marketing Federation (NAFED), an apex organisation of the Ministry of Agriculture, has already sold over 22,000 quintal onion from state retail outlets and mobile vans across the state in the last two weeks.
Apart from major vegetable markers of the city, the NAFED mobile vans sold onion at Nayapalli and Ghatikia near Vipul Garden on Sunday.The apex cooperative is trying to expand the operation to more areas of the state but limited staff and logistics is making the task tough sans state government support, sources said.
“Other than onion we are retailing pulses at subsidised rates. NAFED is retailing chana dal at Rs 60 a kg and over 13,000 quintal of the pulse has been sold in major markets of the state,” said a senior officer of the central agency on condition of anonymity.
As the wholesale price of chana dal remains high at Rs 74 a kg and the commodity is being sold at more than Rs 80 a kg in the retail markets, NAFED has offered the state government to supply the pulse at subsidised price for sale through fair price shops to protect the interests of consumers.
“We are yet to get a response from the state government for sale of onion and chana dal at subsidised prices through retail outlets and fair price shops,” the NAFED official said.
Cold response
NAFED sources say Odisha govt is not helping it to sell onion at subsidised rates in more areas of the state
The cooperative is finding it tough to expand its operations owing to limited staff and logistics
NAFED has offered the state govt to supply chana dal at subsidised rate