Administration to sell onion at no profit, no loss

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 25

Punjab Governor and UT Administrator VP Singh Badnore today directed officials of the UT Administration to ensure the sale of onion on a no-profit, no-loss basis.

Addressing a meeting of senior officers of the Administration, the Governor expressed concern over the high prices of onion. Badnore instructed the Food and Supplies Department to purchase onion at the wholesale price and sell it on a no-profit, no-loss basis. He said people would get some relief from this initiative of the Administration.

Badnore asked officials of the Food and Supplies Department to form five clusters at the Mauli Jagran, Dhanas, Maloya, Ram Darbar and Mani Majra community centres and set up counters there from tomorrow for a hassle-free supply of onion.

He asked them to make announcements to create awareness among the public about the initiative of the Administration. This would continue till the prices of onion came down, he said. The Administrator also directed SDMs, SHOs, the food supply inspector, mandi supervisor and the marketing supervisor to check the hoarding of onion in Chandigarh. He also asked the officers concerned to maintain a record of the arrival of onion and its retail and wholesale rates.

Badnore urged the public to avoid panic buying and storage of onion, and assured them that in the coming days, the Administration would be able to control the demand and supply of not only onion but other essential commodities also.

The meeting was also attended by UT Adviser Manoj Parida, Governor’s Principal Secretary JM Balamurugan, Home Secretary Arun Gupta, Finance Secretary Ajoy K Sinha and Secretary, Food and Supplies Department, Vinod P Kavle.