Hyderabad, December 29: Onions have suddenly become the luxury item in kitchens what with the soaring prices. “In the past, I would frequently dish out a onion curry and would think later what vegetables to add. now its the opposite. Before I start to make some curry, I have to decide how sparsely I have to use the onions,” explains P Sheela, a housewife waiting in a long queue outside an onion stall.
She is just one of the scores of people flocking to the bazaar, where one can get onions at an unbelievably low price of Rs18 per kg. she has another challenge, fight to get the onions. Bazaars have become the latest hotspot for home-makers with a never-seen-before scramble before the onion stalls. Buyers even complain that proper security is needed in front of the stalls.
“There is pushing and shoving as everyone wants to buy their share of onions before the stall closes. as a result small fights are breaking out,” says amina, a housewife adding, “Most buyers are taking back large quantities. If that’s the case, how will it be enough for others?” With prices of most vegetables including onions sky-rocketing, the worst hit are commercial eateries. worker at a restaurant in somajiguda, DGanesh says, “My owner has ordered me strictly to buy onions only from the bazar. Since we buy in bulk, it will be a huge loss to purchase them from supermarkets. One of my co-workers is headed to another bazar to buy onions just in case I fail,” and adds, “every day we need 15 kg onions for our eatery. we have limited it to only 5 kg. shortage of onions is affecting our business as practically it is not possible to omit onions from all dishes.” However, many buyers have to return empty from rythu bazars as stock is limited. another reason is the time of putting up the stalls is also unpredictable. a Venkatesh, assistant gazetted officer, bazar, erragadda said, “the supply of onions here differs from day to day. On Monday, we got 2 tonnes but today we got only half a tonne supply. On sunday, we put up the stall in the morning as it reached here on time. Today, the supply is late so we could put it up only by noon.” He says irrespective of time and quantity, the stock gets over within a couple of hours.
–Agencies