MP officials look for space as onions rot

of onions are rotting away at Harpalpur railway station in Chhatarpur, Madhya Pradesh, as officials are having a tough time in storing and distributing them.

These stocks have been arriving after the state government announced a decision to buy produce from agitating farmers in Mandsaur to store and distribute them in other districts.

Sources in Chhatarpur said the government has roughly 60 warehouses in the area which have a storage capacity of 1,60,000 metric tonnes but the government procured 30,000 metric tonnes of wheat recently, which has taken up a substantial space in these warehouses.

Around 2,200 tonnes of onions reached Chhatarpur on June 15. Since then, three more trains arrived with 2,200 to 2,800 tonnes of onions each.

The district administration and state civil supplies corporation have been entrusted with the responsibility of transporting the consignments from the railway station, storing them and distributing them to traders through auction and to sell them at PDS at ₹2 per kg.

Officials, however, said there was nothing to worry about. Ramesh Gupta, senior assistant from state civil supplies corporation and in charge of the operation told HT, “Work is on to transport the onions to the storage facilities. The onion stock will be kept in tin sheds of Krishi Mandi as warehouses are full. The traders can buy onions through auction at ₹4 per kg and consumers through PDS shop by paying ₹2 per kg...”