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In the wake of peoples’ feeling the pinch of skyrocketed onion prices in the last few days, state-run Trading Corporation Bangladesh (TCB) today started online onion sale programme in the city to enable consumers to buy onion at Taka 36 per kg.
As planned, the TCB began selling onions initially with two online shops to help city consumers purchase this essential commodity at a discount price for Taka 36 per kg.
As part of the government’s decision, the TCB launched the online sale programme amid the growing concern of the consumers due to rapid price surge of the root vegetable for the last few days across the country after onion export restriction was imposed by the Indian government on September 14.
“We have started the online onion sale programme with two online shops –Chaldal and Swapna online–to sell onion at Taka 36 per kg, and the outlets have already taken their products”, said TCB Chairman Brigadier General Ariful Hasan.
Initially, a total of six online shops—Chaldal.com, Swapna online, Sinadabad.com, Sabjibazar.com, BD Cell and EK shop-have been assigned to operate the progamme. “We already have delivered 1500 kg onions to each of those two shops for carrying out the sale for three days, ” he said.
Alongside the online sale, the TCB official said “We will continue our truck sale programme of onion at subsidized rate of Tk 30 per kg—where TCB started onion selling on 275 mobile trucks throughout the country on Sept 13—until the situation becomes normal.”
When contacted with customer care official of Chaldal.com, who launched the online sale, however, told BSS that they started the sale of TCB-delivered onions this morning but the stock ran out within few hours.
Opening the online onion sale drive on a virtual programme on Sunday, Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi said, “We have decided to connect e-commerce organizations with the programme as most of the people could not buy onion queuing in line for hours from the TCB trucks.”
In last few days since the Indian-imposed ban on Sept 14, the price of the essential rose to over Taka 100 per kg at the retail level which triggered widespread discontent among the people.
(BSS)
