Farmers on strike for 10 days, vegetables prices hit the market
New Delhi : Farmers in several states have called for ‘Gaon Bandh’ for 10 days. The first day of the strike has shown farmers’ agitation in Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab. Most of them took streets to express their anger. Owing to the strike, vegetable and milk supplies may run short leading to spike in prices.
The framers strike has been called by the Rashtriya Kisan Mahasangh seeking help of farm loans, minimum support price (MSP) for farm produce and rate for milk of Rs 50 per litre among other demands.
In Maharashtra, auction of vegetables did take place at Nashik agriculture produce market committees (APMC), but the produce that reached the market was low in quantity. The strike also hit the country’s largest wholesale onion market, Lasalgaon APMC, as most farmers stayed away from auction. “Only 300 quintals was auctioned at Lasalgaon on Friday as against 15,000 quintals on Thursday,” a Lasalgaon APMC official said.
Farmers in Rajasthan called for protests and stopped vehicles supplying milk and vegetables. Farmers in Sriganganagar, Hanumangarh, Jhunjhunu, Jaipur, Sikar, etc. spilled milk on roads and highways. At some places like Chomu in Jaipur, they tried to powerfully shut the market. Speaking to the Times of India, Santveer Singh, member of Rashtriya Kisan Mahasangh, said that the bandh was a success in northern Rajasthan.
In Madhya Pradesh, the first day of the strike passed off peacefully, barring stray fights. However, vegetable supplies were hit badly with barely 30% of the daily need landing up at mandis in Bhopal, triggering a price hike.
Protesters in Betul’s Kodaroti village, 180 km south of Bhopal spilled 100 litres of milk on the road. Sources said some farmers were selling milk when a group of protesters arrived and forced them to throw the stored milk.
In Punjab’s Jalandhar, farmers led by Doaba Kisan Sangharsh Committee asked farmers not to bring vegetables, fodder or milk to the city till July 10. They also visited the Verka Milk Plant and told workers not to supply milk from Saturday.
