PANJIM: As the price of onion stands firm, Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant on Friday said that the ‘laid back attitude’ of the locals was responsible for high price of the commodity.
Onions have made a deep hole in consumers’ pockets with the price soaring to Rs 200 per kg in Panjim. The price ranges between Rs 160 per kg and Rs 200 per kg, across various retail markets in the State. At horticulture corporation outlets, onions are being sold at Rs 130 per kg.
While the opposition slammed the State government for failing to provide any relief to the consumers from the rising price of onions, the Chief Minister said the government cannot be held responsible. “State government cannot be held responsible for high onion prices. We are responsible for being laid back,” Sawant told reporters.
He pointed out that locals have stopped growing vegetables and rice. “Milk, vegetables, even flowers have to be imported from neighbouring states,” he said. “Who is responsible for onion prices touching Rs 150 or Rs 170 or Rs 180? Rains? No. We are responsible because we do not grow onions,” Sawant said, adding there was a time when onion was a local produce.
The Chief Minister said ‘all of us used to grow onions’. “Now, we have stopped doing that. Can onions grow in Goa? It can still grow in Goa. Women in Goa used to plant onions, chillies and vegetables, which are required for the household for a year,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Mahila Pradesh Congress Committee held a demonstration at the entrance of office of Goa Horticulture Corporation demanding that onions be provided at subsidised rates to the people. They locked the main entrance gate of the Corporation, accusing it of being incapable of handling the situation.
