Promises to keep
Promises matter in elections because voters lack rationality. As election history shows, freebies do get votes. Hitherto, it was a time tested method of electoral success for a desperate opposition.
Onions prices are on the rise and may bring tears to people as the supply has decreased due to the ongoing floods in Nasik.
The Traders Forum will take up the issue with chief minister Mamata Banerjee within a week.
Mr Amit Dutta, one of the wholesalers of onion from Jadavpur market said: “Nasik is the leading city from where onions are transported in West Bengal for eight months in a year. Due to rain-triggered flood-like situation in Nasik, tons of onions have been destroyed and the rest are rotten, leaving the vendors at loss.”
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Mr Tapash Nandi, a vendor at Gariahat market said, “Today we are selling onion at the rate of Rs 70 per kg while yesterday the rate was Rs 60 per kg. We cannot transport from Nasik as tons of onions have been destroyed due to flood. We are suffering a loss since not all customers are able to buy onions at such a higher rate.”
“The price at which we buy onions has been high for the past 10 to 15 days. Previously, when the selling price of onion was Rs 30 per kg, we could buy 40 kgs for Rs 800. At present, we are buying 40 kgs for Rs 1500. The flood-like situation in Nasik has resulted in decrease in supply of onions as well, because of which the cost price of onions has gone up,”said Mr Randhir Sahu, an onion vendor at Lake market area.
Mr Joydeb Pradhan, another vendor said: “ We are facing a shortage in supply for the past 15-20 days. We procure the material on a daily basis. On Sunday, I procured my supplies for Rs 1300, yesterday the rate was Rs 1,350 and today I got it for Rs 1400. Along with the rates being high, almost three to four kgs of onions have to be discarded from each lot as they were rotting due to the bad weather. We are running at a huge loss.”
Mr Rabindranath Koley, general secretary of the Forum of Trader’s Associations, West Bengal said: “Due to heavy rainfall in Nasik, there is shortage of supply of onion in West Bengal that has resulted in increase in the rate at both wholesalers and retailers in the city
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