A man buys potatoes and onions at Unit-IV Market in Bhubaneswar. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, April 22: People continue to complain of the high cost of potato and onion in spite of the government taking steps to curb the soaring price of these important vegetables.

Traders, on the other hand, claimed that that the situation was normal and people need not be worried.

Over the past few days, potato and onion prices have gone up by Rs 5 to Rs 6 a kilo triggering panic. In October after Phailin, the two vegetables had disappeared from the market. The price of potato, which was Rs 10 a kilo a couple of weeks ago, is now sold at Rs 18 and onion, which cost around Rs 10 a kilo, has touched Rs 20 a kilo.

On Monday, food and supply secretary Madhusudan Padhee instructed the district administration to keep a tab on the market. “The collectors have been told to check the stocks in their districts and see that the price did not go up,” said Padhee.

Sudhakar Panda, secretary of Odisha Byabasayee Mahasangha, said there was no scarcity of these vegetables and people need not be worried. Panda said that the cyclone and the subsequent shortage of vegetables encouraged more production this time, but it’s not enough for the Odisha market. “But now, we are getting potato and onion from farmers of Bengal directly. The price of potato is Rs 1,120 plus Rs 150 a quintal for transportation and it’s sold in Odisha between Rs 1,250 and Rs 1,280. The market rate is fixed accordingly,” said Panda, adding that the situation was same for onion.

He said that due to requisitioning of several trucks for the elections, transportation charge has gone up affecting the rate marginally. Besides, cold store products have not come to the market and they will come by the first week of May. “These things will reduce the prices to a certain amount.

The wholesale traders said with the temperature hovering around the 40°C mark, no one would dare to hide these easily perishable products. “There might be some retail traders with vested interests who have been knowingly raising the price to create instability. But we are trying our level best not to hike the price,” said a member of the wholesale traders’ association.

In Cuttack, a meeting between district officials and wholesale and retail traders will take place tomorrow to review the situation, availability of stock as well fixation of prices, said Collector Girish S.N, adding that the traders at Chhatrabazar had been instructed to sell potatoes at Rs 16 a kilo. Potato will be sold at Rs 15 at four model fair price shops from tomorrow.