Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government today asked District Collectors to monitor onion price and ensure the bulb vegetable’s availability at reasonable prices to people.In a letter to the Collectors, Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Department, Commissioner-cum-Secretary VV Yadav asked them to keep close watch on the price and availability of onion in the market.He also directed the Collectors to utilise the services of the field functionaries to frequently inspect both wholesale and retail business premises on regular basis and ensure its availability at reasonable prices to customers.Accepting that the rising trend of onion prices has become a concern, Yadav said Odisha is facing shortage of the bulb vegetable due to the loss of crop in the procuring states.Although the onion price hike is a national phenomenon, unscrupulous traders may resort to high profiteering and sell onion at an exorbitant price in Odisha, the letter mentioned.