Govt seizes over 1.20 lakh ton of pulses; dal prices falling but still costly

New Delhi: Over 1.20 lakh tonnes of pulses have been seized from hoarders across the country so far as part of the government's steps to control prices of lentils, which still remain expensive for common man.

Among metros, retail prices of tur dal fell to Rs 168 per kg in Kolkata today from Rs 188 per kg yesterday, while in Delhi the rate declined by Rs 5 to Rs 172 per kg, as per the Consumer Affairs Ministry data.

In Mumbai and Chennai, there was no change in price of tur, which was available at Rs 173 per kg in the cities.

The government today said both retail and wholesale prices are declining.

However, the current dal prices are still expensive for common man, who is already reeling under high prices of other food items especially onion and some edible oils.

"State governments have continued operations to check hoarding of pulses. So far, 9,304 raids have been conducted across the states and a total 1,20,907.90 tonnes of pulses have been seized," an official release said.

"Wholesale and retail centres have shown continued declining trends," it said, adding that states have been advised to continue the drive further under the Essential Commodities Act against hoarders.

In a bid to make pulses available at reasonable rates, states are also opening more centres, it added.

The seized pulses will be offloaded in the open market from next week onwards and this will help boost supply and further cool down prices.

As per the ministry's data, retail urad prices today dropped by Rs 10 per kg to Rs 130 in Kolkata from Rs 140 yesterday. Retail urad rates remained unchanged at Rs 157 per kg in Delhi and at Rs 160 per kg each in Mumbai and Chennai.

Dal prices have risen across the country due to shortfall in domestic output by two million tonnes in 2014-15 due to poor rains.