Patna: Long queues were being seen outside the counters of Bihar State Cooperative Marketing Union Limited (Biscomaun), Patna, where onion are being sold at Rs 35 per kg at a time when the prices of the vegetable soared up to Rs 70-80 per kg.
Speaking to news agency ANI, an official named Rohit Kumar said, “There have been instances of stone-pelting and stampedes, so this was our only option. No security has been provided to us.”
Onions have left customers teary-eyed as prices of the staple continue to skyrocket across the country. In West Bengal, onion scored a century with a kilo costing a whopping Rs 100.
The central government has decided to import 1.2 lakh tonnes of onions to improve the domestic supply and control prices. The government is trying to procure onions from Egypt, Turkey, Holland and other countries.
Meanwhile, amid the shooting rise in the price, there are reports of onions being stolen from parts of Delhi, Gujarat, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar.
In West Bengal, onions worth thousands of rupees have been stolen from a shop in West Midnapore. Thieves also stole a truck carrying onions worth Rs 20 lakh on its way from Nashik to Gorakhpur in Shiv Puri, Madhya Pradesh.