PM intervenes to bring down onion prices

NEW DELHI - Stepping in to tackle sky-rocketing onion prices, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Tuesday asked the agriculture ministry to take immediate steps to effectively deal with the situation.

Official sources said the Prime Minister’s Office has written to the departments of agriculture and consumer affairs to monitor on a daily basis the effect of steps taken to bring down prices.

Sources said the letter states that the Prime minister desires that all necessary steps to deal with extraordinary price rise and to bring the prices down to affordable levels are expeditiously taken and their impact monitored on a day to day basis.

The government has already suspended export of onions, which are selling at Rs.70-80 per kilo in the market.