Vegetable traders upset with government raids on godowns

NEW DELHI: The BJP-led government's crackdown on vegetable traders, as part of its efforts to control food inflation, has not gone down well with the trading community, which had whole-heartedly supported the Narendra Modi campaign before the Lok Sabha election.

The government blames the traders for spiralling up prices by hoarding onions and potatoes, but traders at the Azadpur vegetable market here contend that vegetables are not anything like gold to be ‘hoarded'.

Azadpur traders say there have been more than 120 raids in the last one month and every dealer with more than 15 sacks of onions and potatoes has been hauled up for ‘stocking'. At the Okhla Mandi, Keshopur Mandi and RK Puram, there have been even more raids on godowns, offices of dealers and agents and even carts that were seen filled with onions.

In all, raids have been conducted at more than 540 spots against alleged hoarders and over 40 traders have been prosecuted. Some may see these ‘bold, proactive steps' as a strong indicator of the government's resolve to address food inflation, but traders and dealers aren't happy.

"What the government is doing is not right. Only three months ago, we went to every dealer, every customer in the area urging them to vote for the BJP as they promised so many good things," said Prahlad Khurana, an agent for onions in the market. With over 200 agents and 3,000 everyday vendors, the Azadpur market, the largest in the country, is seething with anger against the BJP government.

"Six months before the elections, we started campaigning for him (Modi). We had his posters everywhere. We would spread his promotional messages to hundreds of people everyday," Khurana added. The mood among the vegetable vendors is sombre. Mohan Chand, a seller of onions from Shahdra, says he was stopped twice last week by officials and asked why he had seven bags of onions.

"The problem is that stocks of onions and potatoes have decreased considerably in the last few days. With diesel prices going up, rentals for tempo vans to transport vegetables have also gone up. Now I cannot take extra stock to reduce transport cost because they will catch me for hoarding."

"If the government had wished good for us, it could have conducted asurvey and found out if dealers are actually hoarding vegetables here. Their sudden and frequent raids of people have only spread fear and panic in the market which was totally not expected from the government which boasted of bringing down prices," said Rajendra Sharma, general secretary of the Potato and Onion Merchants Association (POMA). "Also with no government in Delhi there is no one we can go and complain to," he added.

The prices of onions have shot up to Rs 35 a kg in the last few days, while potatoes are at Rs 30 now, expected to rise in the next few days. The rise has had its effect on other vegetables too. On Sunday, the prices of mushrooms stood atRs 200, almost Rs 100 more than last month. A kilo of beans of beans cost Rs 50 and capsicum Rs 35, almostRs 20 more than the usual.

"Unless the potatoes from Punjab come to the market, we have to make to with the Pahadi ones or the ones from South which are not of great quality and don't come in good numbers too. Instead of targetting small fry like us who don't even have facilities to store the stock if we hoard them, they should go behind those stocking them in government godowns or the large hotels," said Vinay Kamdaar, another dealer at the market.

"The stock of good onions from Nashik and Indore are coming in very less quantities and get sold faster. The onions that are coming to Delhi now from Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan which are all BJP-ruled States which the government should monitor and see how much of it is hoarded, spoiled stuff," said Kamdaar.