Onions get a 10-day shun from Sylhet housewives

Housewives in Sylhet city on Wednesday formed human chain protesting unabated price hike of onion and announced to run their kitchens without onion for next 10 days, reports UNB.

The housewives formed the human chain in front of the Central Shaheed Minar on Wednesday afternoon.

“At this critical time, the housewives need to be aware. there are a number of palatable dishes that can also be cooked without onion,” they said, adding that the syndicate would break if everyone simultaneously boycotted onion for few days.

The housewives announced not to use onions in their kitchens for 10 days to stop the hoarders. Besides, they called for effective measures of the government to resolve the crisis.

Meanwhile, in Bogura, Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) has started selling onion at fair price under police security due to heavy rush of buyers. Consumers are happy after getting onion at Tk 45 per kilogramme as fixed by the government.

Amidst onion crisis, TCB began selling onions at fair price of Tk 45 per KG through dealers in open market for the first day in Bogura on Wednesday noon. The onions have been imported from Egypt.

Bogura deputy commissioner Fayez Ahmed inaugurated the onion sale on the road in front of the Circuit House in the afternoon.

Hearing the news of the sale of onion, hundreds of people thronged there and queued up to purchase onions.

At this time, police was deployed there to maintain security.

In different kitchen markets of Bogura, each kilogramme of foreign onions are being sold for Tk 170-180 and local dry variety at Tk 220-230, while onion with raw leaves are sold at Tk 80-90 per kg. On the other hand, onions without leaves are being sold at Tk 160-170 per kg.

Fancy Khatun, a buyer and a resident of Badurtola of the town, said that “I am happy to purchase onion at fair price because I was facing hurdles to run the housedue to abnormal price rise of onions.”

Abdur Rashid, owner of Galeb Traders and a TCB dealer, said that two metric tons or 2,000 kgs of onions were sold to 2,000 people. The onions will be sold on regular basis from Monday next.

In Chapainawabganj, TCB also started selling onions at Tk 45 per kilogramme. A consumer can buy maximum one kg onion, as stipulated by the government. Deputy commissioner AZM Nurul Haque formally inaugurated the TCB’s onion sale programme in open market at his office premises.

Standing in queue the consumers thronged the DC office area to purchase the onions. Besides onion, each kgs of Sugar and pulses were being sold at Tk 50 per kg while Soybean at Tk 85 per kg.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday afternoon, onion was being sold at Tk 220 per kg in the local markets of the district.

Deputy commissioner AZM Nurul Haque also informed that initiative has been taken under the auspices of the district administration for open sale of onions to control its price.

“A thousand kgs of onion have been sold and the sale programme will continue depending on the supply,” the DC said.