Govt loses the battle against onions and potatoes

Rawalpindi :Onion was easily available in the market at Rs25-30 per kg and tomato at Rs 50 per kg not long ago. But lo! Prices not only of onions and potatoes, but almost of all vegetables skyrocketed.

Tomato went up to Rs300/kg, while onions were available at more than Rs100/kg. The same trend was witnessed in prices of other vegetables, without rhyme or reason. The administration at all levels must admit that they miserably failed to control the prices.

Movers and shakers in fruit and vegetable markets are playing their cards very tactfully. They have seen to it that the grower does not benefit and the common man also does not feel any relief.

Onion crop in Sindh is almost ready but the manipulators have put them in uncomfortable position by either importing or smuggling onions and potatoes. In fact t is they who control the rates.

Hoarders, profiteers and government officials are befooling the public by issuing statements day in and day out that tomato prices are coming down. The situation is still out of the reach of common man even if tomatoes have shown a slight downward trend.

Citizens said that the price control committees did not realise their responsibilities to keep a check on the prices of such essential kitchen items thus leaving citizens at the mercy of greedy wholesalers and retailers.

The farmers fear that they cannot compete with their Indian counterparts unless problems of the agriculture sector get serious attention of the government. Sindh makes a handsome contribution to the country's onion produce as the crop is cultivated and harvested at different times of the year.

Market Committee Secretary Nazar Hussain said, “We are continuously monitoring profiteers and hoarders at the time of fixing prices.” He admitted that consumers are in fact facing financial burden due to price fluctuation in Sabzi Mandis. He said that unexpectedly, onion prices going up and up which disturbing public. "But, tomato prices will come down as new crop has landed in market," he hoped.

While, talking to 'The News' poor consumer belonging to different walks of life strongly condemned government policies added that government machinery was busy in other works rather than addressing public grievances.

"How can I afford to purchase 1-kilogram onion at Rs100 while it was easily available at Rs30," said Amna Pervez a housewife. “Where is the government writ in this country,” she bitterly asked.

Owais Ahmed a citizen said that there was no proper check on the prices of food items. "The price of tomato and onion cost more than vegetables brought to home daily. They are even costlier than fruits now-a-days," he quipped.