By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, August 24, 2015 : Odisha government plans to bring in Rs 50 crore from the Union Price Stabilizing Fund to rein in the steep rise in prices of onions, potatoes and lentils in the state, according to food supplies and consumer welfare department minister Sanjay Dasburma

“The government has also made it mandatory for shops to display the amount of stock and prices of onions and lentils at the shops under Essential Commodities Act. Officials of Food and Supply Department are also conducting raids at different places to control black-marketing,” Dasburma said on Monday after a meeting with the traders at the state secretariat.

During their meeting with the minister on Monday, the traders’ association suggested the government to withdraw Value Added Tax [VAT] from pulses to contain the prices to some extent. They attributed transport and supply problems for the sudden rise in the prices of these food items.

“The supply of onions from Nasik has completely dried up. So far as pulses are concerned, harvest at Indian centres has been very little this year. The amount of lentils imported from Australia has not been satisfactory either. The demand is much higher than the supply and that is fuelling the price rise. The traders’ association today advised the government to withdraw VAT on pulses so that the prices can be brought down by Rs 5-7 a kilo,” said Odisha Traders’ Association secretary Sudhakar Panda told reporters outside the Secretariat.

The prices of arhar dal and onions have been on the rise for the past couple of weeks. While the price of the widely used arhar still lies above Rs 150, price of onion hovers around Rs 60-70 in most parts of the state.

For the housewife as well as a cook in hotels , potatoes, onions and dals are quite essential for preparation of the food in Indian style. Shop owners are equally not happy with the price rise either.

“The demands for onion and lentils has receded in last few weeks because of the price rise. We have stocks in our shop that is rotting owing to lack of demand. Consumers who used to buy 2.5 Kilos at a time are not buying even 500 grams anymore. We thus end up investing more for lesser return. Overall, it’s a no-gain deal for us,” opined a shop owner here.