Onion price has risen sharply in the last a few weeks; Delhi government said it will lower the price

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today promised relief from the eye-watering price of onion in the national capital. Runaway price of the kitchen staple - up to Rs 80 per kilogram - has pinched the pocket of household consumers as well as restaurants.

Mr Kejriwal said he will bring the price down to less than half of the inflated price at Rs 23.90 per kg from Saturday.

"The rates of onion have increased. It is being sold at Rs 60-80 per kilogram in the national capital. Our government will start selling onion from Saturday at Rs 23.90 per kilogram," Mr Kejriwal told reporters today.

"A person can get a maximum of 5 kg onion for their family. We have identified 400 ration shops and 70 mobile vans to sell onion. One mobile van will cover an assembly area," he said. Delhi has 70 assembly constituencies.

The Delhi government will take 1 lakh kg onion from the centre in the next five days, Mr Kejriwal said. The centre has already fixed the procurement and selling price of the kitchen staple.

"We see reduced consumption during Navratra (which starts on Sunday). We will place orders accordingly. Till the rates stabilise, we will supply what the centre provides," the Chief Minister said, adding two Delhi government officers have gone to Nashik in Maharashtra from where trucks carrying onions will take a long trip to the national capital.

Action will be taken against those found to be involved in black marketing of the vegetable, Mr Kejriwal said.

Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said other states that want to buy onion from the centre can send their requirements.

The price of onions has risen sharply in the last a few weeks as a seasonal shortage worsened following floods in several onion-growing states.