New Delhi, 28 August (H.S.): The first ‘Kanda Express’, carrying around 453.65 tonnes of onions from Nashik in Maharashtra, arrived in Delhi on Friday as part of the government’s efforts to contain rising onion prices in the national capital and neighbouring cities. The onions will be made available to consumers at a subsidised price of Rs 35 per kilogram.

Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare said on Friday that the first ‘Kanda Express’, carrying 453.65 tonnes of onions in 21 wagons, reached New Delhi on Friday morning. The National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India Limited (NCCF) will also begin operating mobile onion vans in Delhi from Friday.

Khare said the onions would be sold across Delhi-NCR at a subsidised rate of Rs 35 per kilogram. A portion of the consignment will also be supplied to nearby cities, including Chandigarh, Ludhiana and Jammu.

She further said that the rack for the ‘Kanda Express’ bound for Chennai would be loaded on Friday. Three more rakes would subsequently be dispatched one after another to other destinations, namely Madurai, Ernakulam and Guwahati.

Khare said retail onion prices in Delhi are expected to decline within a week of the release of the buffer stock.

In the national capital, retail onion prices rose sharply on Thursday, increasing by 88 per cent to Rs 62 per kilogram from Rs 33 per kilogram a year earlier. The all-India average retail price stood at Rs 46.58 per kilogram on Thursday, while the average wholesale price was Rs 38.29 per kilogram.

The central government currently holds around 1.21 lakh tonnes of onions as buffer stock under the Price Stabilisation Fund. The release of this stock is aimed at augmenting market supplies and moderating prices for consumers.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar