Bhubaneswar: With onion price soaring across the country, the Central government on Tuesday opened a mobile retail outlet to sell the vegetable at cheaper rate in Bhubaneswar.
On the direction of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, the National Cooperative Consumers Federation of India (NCCF) deployed a van at Chirgatola slum of Prashanti Vihar in the city to sell the onion at the rate of Rs 25 per kg. Each customer was allowed to purchase 2 kg at a time.
Hundreds of local people were found lining up in front of the van to procure the onion. The prices of onion had touched Rs 70 per kg in the retail market of the city.
According to the ministry, the government has taken the steps to bring down the onion prices. It has deployed 5-6 vans to sell the onion at different locations of the city at present.
The number of such vans will increase in days to come. The NCCF will also make people aware about the van through the public address system, it added.