The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Onion shortage brings tears to old city residents

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Oct 03, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Onion shortage brings tears to old city residents

Staff Reporter

They complain that it is being marketed illegally

Buyers fight among themselves
It’s a racket being run, feels a resident

PHOTO: P.V. SIVAKUMAR

‘Give me more’: A woman haggles for onion as people stand in a long queue at Falaknuma rythu bazaar. —

Hyderabad: Residents of old city are crying foul over shortage of onion. They complain that onion is being marketed illegally from the Falaknuma rythu bazaar to traders who come from different parts of the city.

It’s the same story everyday at the Falaknuma rythu bazaar. One can see four long queues at the only onion stall on the market premises where buyers are often seen fighting amongst themselves.

As a result, police personnel are being called to man the unruly crowd, much to the buyer’s ire. “Tarkari khareed ne ku aaye, ab yaahan bhi police ku bulaye tho kaisa yaaro? Hum kya criminal dikhre?” (We have only come to buy vegetables. Where is the need to call the cops, do we look like criminals), says Karim Khan, a resident of Talabkatta area.

4 kg is the limit

However, residents complain that stocks of onion being brought to the market are being sold to traders at a much higher price.

At present onion is being sold at Rs. 7 per kg and one can buy no more than 4 kg. Anything above the limit is being sold in between Rs. 10 to Rs. 12 a kilo. Shoppers claim to have seen people taking away sacks of onion at times when the crowd is asked to disperse from the market.

“I asked the Civil Supplies Officer about what I had seen but he just asked me to mind my own business. In the end, the common man suffers while others mint money.

“I am not putting up any hotel. But what about those who come to buy onion at the rythu bazaar? They come there with the intention of saving a few rupees but looks like everything has been already fixed up here. It’s a racket that is being run.” says a resident of Shah-Ali-Banda on condition of anonymity.

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