Farmers strike day 4: Vegetable prices hike in India as protests soars high
New Delhi : Turns out that, people across the nation will face the soaring price of vegetables due to strike by millions of farmers. It’s the fourth day of the strike and vegetable prices jumped as much as 10% in major Indian cities, including Mumbai and Delhi. Farmers began their 10-day protest on Friday to press demands such as farm loan waivers and higher prices for produce such as cereals, oilseeds and milk.
“Wholesale prices of some vegetables like tomatoes and french beans have risen due to lower supplies,” said a Mumbai-based vegetable vendor Mahesh Gupta.
Farmers in eight states, mostly under the governance of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), have restricted supplies of vegetable and milk to the markets in cities.
“We are distributing milk and vegetables to the poor and needy, but we’ve decided not sell. The basic idea is to highlight the plight of farmers who have been overlooked by the government,” said Ramandeep Singh Mann, a farmer based in Punjab.
However, prices for many crops have fallen sharply, while the price of diesel has gone up, squeezing the pockets of millions of India’s mostly small-scale farmers.
Last year, six farmers were killed in farmer protests that became brutal in Madhya Pradesh.
Few days back, farmers blocked highways in some places and poured milk onto roads. The farmer protests have been peaceful so far, although organisers are planning to increase the intensity in coming days.
“The government hasn’t fulfilled promises it had given last year. We have no option but to intensify our protests,” said Ajit Nawale, state general secretary, All India Kisan Sabha, one of the farmers’ union participating in the strike.
Two-thirds of India’s 1.3 billion people depend directly or indirectly on farming for their livelihood, but farm incomes only account for 14% of gross domestic product (GDP), reflecting a growing divide between the countryside and wealthier cities.
“I am stocking up vegetables for the entire week,” said Anjali Salunkhe, a housewife in Mumbai, fearing prices could double as they did during protests last year.
