Latest news with #Rs651
Time of India
07-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Rainfall leads to 30% drop in arrival of onions at Lasalgaon
Nashik: Daily arrival of onions at the country's largest wholesale onion market in Lasalgaon Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) was 30% less than usual on Monday. At around 10,000 quintals, the drop was due to farmers not bringing their produce to sell at the APMC due to rain, said officials. Daily arrivals recorded are around 15,000-17,000 quintals. The average wholesale onion price was recorded at Rs1,500 per quintal on Monday at Lasalgaon. The minimum and maximum wholesale onion prices were recorded at Rs651 and Rs2,100 per quintal, respectively. According to onion farmers, the cost of growing onions is Rs1,800 per quintal. Farmers incur heavy losses if they get a price below that. Bharat Dighole, president of the Maharashtra Onion Growers Association, said: "Average wholesale onion prices at the APMCs are around Rs1,500 per quintal. Onions are also being sold at the price range between Rs800 and Rs1,200 per quintal for the past two months." At present, summer onions are being brought to wholesale markets. These were harvested in March and April. Unlike kharif and late kharif onions, summer onions have a shelf life of six to seven months. Farmers, therefore, prefer storing these onions with the hope of getting a better price for their produce. Farmers bring these produce to sell as per their requirement for money. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Show Off Your Talent: Enter the Ultimate Creator Contest! Tocsin Media & Marketing LLC Undo No fresh onion crop will be cultivated for the next five and a half months. This will continue till the arrival of the fresh kharif onions by mid-Oct. Stored onions cater to the market during this period (May-Oct). The average wholesale onion price has remained between Rs1,500 and Rs1,600 per quintal for the past month. "Hence, we want state govt to provide a grant of at least Rs500 per quintal to onion farmers who sold their produce at lower prices during the last two months," said Dighole.
Express Tribune
30-06-2025
- Health
- Express Tribune
Sindh's largest mental health hospital struggles
The proper functioning of Sindh's largest mental health care facility, which even serves patients from South Punjab and Balochistan, remains handicapped due to shortage of doctors and staff. Some other funding woes of Sir Cowasjee Jehangir Institute of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, aka Giddu hospital in Hyderabad, also surfaced during the recent visit of the Sindh Human Rights Commission's Chairman Iqbal Ahmed Detho. Although the Sindh government has earmarked Rs651 million for the hospital, including Rs377 component for salaries and allowances of employees, the 500-beded hospital is confronted with severe staff shortage. "There are 12 operational wards but we are coping with a crisis of not being able to run the facility 24/7," a senior officer, who requested anonymity, told The Express Tribune. According to him, there are six posts of psychiatrists but five of them are vacant. Likewise, the sanctioned strength of the lower staff is 225 but 92 of these posts are also vacant. On the day of the visit on June 26 some 313 out of the 500 beds were occupied, according to Medical Superintendent Dr Nisar Ahmed Soho. The recently built ward number five with its 200 beds is expected to see its inauguration in August. "Even if it is inaugurated, how can we run it with the staff scarcity," the officer said. The budget 2025-26 has set aside slightly over Rs90 million for the institute's medicines and Rs78 million for patients' meals. But both the allocations, according to the hospital's officers, fall short of their actual expenditures. "Last year we received around Rs65 million for medicines and about Rs30 million from that amount was spent on epilepsy medicines alone," the source claimed, pointing out that the health condition technically fell under the domain of neurology and not mental health services. "Yet we have to provide services to thousands of epilepsy patients because it has been the norm for decades." The provincial government provides Rs270 per meal per patient with an annual allocation of Rs78 million for the upcoming fiscal. However, the institute needs Rs147.825 million for a three-time meal per year in view of the 500 beds, notwithstanding the addition of 200 more beds. The substance abuse in the society is increasing alarmingly but the institute's 50-bed narcotics rehab ward is also not fully functional, reportedly. A doctor, who also wanted to remain anonymous, claimed that in view of the cases requiring admission for rehab, the ward's capacity is too low. The infrastructure repair and maintenance works have also become a bane for the administration. The facility is dependent on the Provincial Buildings Department for such works. In March this year, the MS wrote separate letters to the department for repair works in washrooms and to fix leakage in the water tank. "... this office is unable to carry out any work without funds. When the funds are available the work will be carried out," the department's executive engineer replied to the MS, repeating the same excuse in both his correspondences. Referring to these issues, the SHRC's Chairman underscored that institutional coordination is indispensable "to mitigate vulnerabilities faced by individuals with mental illnesses". Detho suggested that a committee should be formed to address the persistent gaps.
