Hyderabad, April 26: In a novel protest, farmers from Devunu Yerravalli village of Chevella mandal in adjoining Ranga Reddy district distributed tonnes of tomatoes and cabbages free to passers-by, as part of their struggle seeking support price for different kinds of vegetables.
Around noon on Monday, the farmers, numbering a few dozens, landed outside the Ranga Reddy District Collectorate with a truckload of vegetables. They sent a message to the Collector, V. Seshadri, that they wanted to meet him in a group, carrying their vegetables, but the officer said they could not do that and a few of them could come to his chambers to submit their representation.
Farmers’ condition
The farmers, however, led by Satyanarayana Reddy, President of the Andhra Pradesh Sarpanches Association, insisted that they would all come in and that too, only if they were allowed to distribute the vegetables among the staff. And when this demand was refused, they at least wanted him to come near the gate of the Collectorate and speak to them. But Mr. Seshadri sent word that he was busy meeting people and listening to their grievances.
Disappointed at being denied an opportunity to voice their grievances, the farmers unloaded the truckload of vegetables, put tomatoes and cabbages in plastic bags and started giving them away to passers-by. As the traffic on the busy stretch in Lakdi-ka-pul started getting blocked, the police arrested the farmers and later released them.
Ironic situation
Mr. Reddy regretted that when the prices of vegetables were at a record low, the farmers were not even getting 50 paise per kg of tomatoes they produced. On the other hand, consumers were buying it from stores at Rs. 6 or Rs. 7 per kg.
This way, he said that with neither the farmer nor the consumer being benefitted, middlemen were making profits. Mr. Reddy demanded that it was high time the State government looked into the problem and took steps to fix support prices which would help farmers. This would benefit the consumers too, he said.
-Agencies