Onion prices, already ruling high, is now poised for a further hike after the Azadpur Mandi traders gave an indefinite strike call from Wednesday even though the Delhi government rushed in with the threat to impose Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) against agitating traders. The Mother Dairy outlets on Tuesday failed to sell onions at Rs 35 a kg, with Nafed accusing it of not lifting the onions from the Azadpur Mandi.
The Azadpur Mandi onion traders on Tuesday said that they would go on an indefinite strike from Wednesday to protest the Income Tax Department’s raids against them. The income tax sleuths had carried out survey of onion traders at Azadpur Mandi on Monday. The move of the income tax came on the heels of nation-wide raids against onion traders in an attempt to check cases of hoarding and black-marketing.
Delhi food and civil supplies minister Haroon Yusuf, while stating that the government is willing to look into their grievances, asserted that if necessary the city government would not hesitate in imposing ESMA against agitating onion traders.
Meanwhile, the Delhi government’s plan to provide onions at Rs 35 a kg from over 400 outlets of Mother Dairy, Kendriya Bhandar failed to take off. Nafed chairman Bijender Singh said that while his organisation is selling onions at Rs 35 a kg, it is hard to believe why the Mother Dairy could not do so. “I have been told that Mother Dairy did not pick onions from Azadpur Mandi on Tuesday,” Mr Singh said. Mother Dairy outlets sold onions at Rs 50 a kg.