30 percent rise in fruit and vegetable prices

JAIPUR: The ongoing ‘gaon bandh’ agitation by farmers is proving to be costly with prices of fruits and vegetables having shot up by almost 30 per cent in the urban areas of the state. While in rural areas where farmers are protesting and selling their vegetables without any mediators, the prices are dipping. The protests have also affected the supply of mangoes and other seasonal fruits and vegetables in the city.
Traders at the wholesale Muhana Mandi on Sunday said prices will rise further on Monday if the supply of vegetables and fruits continues to be short.



Likewise at many milk booths of the Rajasthan Cooperative Dairy Federation’s Saras branch was sold out within some minutes after it was supplied. Farmers have already stopped the entry of inter-state trucks carrying milk, vegetables and fruits in many districts. “We are not letting these trucks to go further and urging them to be united for the genuine cause,” said Santveer Singh of Rashtriya Kisan Mahasangh.

Farmers have also criticised the attitude of Prabhu Lal Saini of state agriculture who was quoted in a news daily saying the farmers are doing all this to get cheap publicity in the media. “This is the insensitivity of the state government. We are protesting for a cause,” Singh added.

In Jaipur, especially at the Mohana Mandi the wholesale market of fruits and vegetables the supply of vegetables and fruits are affected. “The Safeda variety of Mangos was Rs 30 to Rs 40 in the wholesale has now gone up to Rs 50 to Rs 60 per kg in the wholesale,” said Abdul Sagir, a wholesale trader of fruits. Farmers have been protesting for their demands including –loan waiver, fixation of minimum support price for their produce and implementation of Swaminathan committee report.

On Sunday, the farmers forcibly stopped the water tankers coming to supply at the RCDF headquarters. “From Monday onwards the situation worsen as we are likely to get our stock exhausted. With poor supply the consumers are likely to get affected,” said an officer.