Raids At Unit 1 Haat In Bhubaneswar To Check Price Hike, Black Marketing Of Potato & Onion

Bhubaneswar: Amid potato crisis resulting in a surge in prices of the tuber in Odisha, a joint team of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) and Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare department on Tuesday raided vegetable vendors in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday.

According to officials involved in the raid, notices were issued to three vegetable sellers at Unit 1 daily market for not maintaining and declaring their stocks duly.

On Tuesday morning, there was resentment among consumers over the prices of potato and onion which was sold at Rs 40 and Rs 50 respectively in various places across the Odisha capital.

“The retail price of potato should be Rs 29 and onion is being sold at Rs 50 because the wholesale price of the latter is Rs 42. We are keeping a watch on the situation to check any form of black marketing and hoarding,” a Food Supplies official said.

Worst hit are the consumers who are now facing difficulty in purchasing onions. After the price of potato dropped from Rs 60 to Rs 40, the onion price has surged from Rs 30 to Rs 50.

While vegetable traders were tight lipped about the rise in onion prices, sources said, there is supply shortage of the vegetable from other states during monsoon season.

Meanwhile, the Odisha government has decided to import potatoes in trains from Uttar Pradesh to meet the local demand.