For 29-year-old Manju, all meals are cooked without onions for almost a month. “My children insist that the meals do not taste the same. They are young and do not understand about the price rise. They complain as I am using jeera (cumin seeds) for flavour in all dishes,” said the Sangam Vihar resident, who ekes out a living as a domestic help.
With a spike in onion prices since last week, Delhiites are facing difficulty in buying a basic raw food item like onions.
The prices continue to be high across the capital. At Azadpur mandi, the current wholesale price of onions is Rs 50.
“Currently, onions are being sold at a wholesale price of Rs 50. This is an increase compared to last week’s. However, the supply is regular now and no shortage has been reported,” said Satnam Singh, Secretary, Azadpur Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee.
Several residents complained that the price of onions continues to be high at the Mother Dairy’s Safal outlets.
“Even though the government claimed that the price of onions is being stabilised at these outlets, the ground situation is different. There is no check being conducted by the government to see if there is uniformity in the outlets,” said S P Suri who lives in Malviya Nagar.
“Ours is a family of six and the pocket pinch is heavy. But it is also not possible for us to reduce the usage of onions,” Suri added.
While people who cannot afford them have completely done away with using onions in meals, several others are relying on “their judicious usage” .
“We are regulating the use of onions. This problem surfaces every year no matter which government is in power. Even though the parties start the blame game, nobody is resolving this problem for the public,” said Lata, an NDMC staffer.
The rates at Arjun Nagar, where she lives is between Rs 70 and Rs 80 this week, she added.
Nonibai, a fruit vendor, echoed the same sentiment.
“It is difficult to completely do without onions. But in a family of eight, we are using may be only two onions daily. The rate of onions in my locality is around Rs 70 now,” said the Uttam Nagar resident.
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