Onion prices, which have remained elevated over the past few weeks, are likely to dip with the arrival of the Centre's 'Kanda Express' to New Delhi.
The train, which departed from Maharashtra's Nashik with 1,600 tonnes of onion, is scheduled to reach the national capital today, NDTV reported on Sunday.
The arrival of a train full of onions is seen as a major relief from the government ahead of the Diwali festive period, as the vegetable's price has soared up to Rs 75 per kg in the retail markets of Delhi.
The Kanda Express, which has 42 coaches loaded with onion, will reach the Kishanganj railway station of Delhi. After offloading, the onions will be supplied to the wholesale markets of the capital city.
The move will increase the daily supply of onions to 2,500 to 2,600 tonnes in markets of Delhi and the surrounding areas, NDTV reported. The onions will be sold to the common people at Rs 35 per kg, it added.
Similar to the onion train to Delhi, arrangements will be made to increase the vegetable's supply in the markets of Lucknow and Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, and the northeastern states including Assam, Nagaland and Manipur, Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare said.
To provide relief to the common people, the government will distribute onions through mobile vans, and through channels of the National Cooperative Consumers Federation and the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation ahead of Diwali, he added.
Notably, onion prices increased by 66.1% year-on-year in September, according to government data. The prices of other two kitchen staples—potato and tomato— have also jumped by 65% and 42.2%, respectively.
Other vegetables too saw a rise, with brinjal, carrot, cabbage, cauliflower, peas, spinach, and other leafy vegetables recording inflation at over 20%.
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