This Local Community in Bengal is Distributing Free Onions to Poor Families as Prices Skyrocket to 100/kg

Kolkata: As onion prices breached the Rs 100/kg mark in West Bengal, a local community in North 24-Parganas district distributed 1 kg of onions free of cost to 160 poor families.

After the price -- which usually varies around Rs 35 a kg in Calcutta -- shot up to an unbelievable high of Rs 100-110/kg, common people are struggling to meet their daily demands of the vegetable that is an indispensable ingredient in every Bengali household.

In an attempt to alleviate the woes of people, Gorabazar Sangha Mitra, a local community club in Dum Dum area here, has come forward to distribute free onions to families and provide relief.

“We have distributed 160 kilograms of onions on first cum first serve basis as a part of the post-Durga Puja celebrations or Bijoya Sammilani. Now, we plan to organize more such drives to help poor people,” the president of the local community said.

When asked about what led him to come up with this scheme, the head's response was simple: "Food connects people by heart and no one can understand this better than a Bengali.”

“We noticed that poor people are not being entertained by vegetable vendors when they are ask for one or two pieces of onions, which is all that they can afford to barely make ends meet. That’s why we have decided to organise the 'onion fair' and distribute the vegetable for free.”

This is not the first time that Mitra club has initiated something like this. "Few years ago, when price of potatoes rocketed to touch Rs 80-Rs 90/kg, we distributed the vegetable among poor," he said.