Pune: The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) on Tuesday staged a protest demanding the MSP for onion and blocked the Pune-Nashik Highway. The MVA further announced that they would continue to fight to ensure a MSP of Rs 3,000 per quintal for onions and to bring justice to the farmers who are struggling.
“Farmers who have put in immense hard work and shed their blood and sweat to cultivate onions are now being forced to sell their produce at throwaway prices. Onions are not even fetching Rs 2 per kilogram. Due to the wrong policies of the Central Government, onion-producing farmers have been completely devastated,” claimed state Congress chief, Harshwardhan Sapkal.
He added that during the protest, the MVA also demanded the payment of subsidies for onions sold at lower rates, and procurement of all farmers’ onions through NAFED to ensure justice to farmers.
Apart from Sapkal, NCP-SP State President Shashikant Shinde, NCP-SP MLA Rohit Pawar, NCP-SP MP Nilesh Lanke, NCP-SP MLA Bapusaheb Pathare, Babaji Kale (MLA, Shiv Sena-UBT), Ashok Pawar (former MLA), Devdatta Nikam (Pune District President, NCP-SP) along with office-bearers, workers of the MVA constituent parties and farmers were present at the protest.
Sapkal said that due to rising inflation, the increased cost of agricultural production, and the lack of fair prices for agricultural produce, farmers in Maharashtra have fallen into a severe financial crisis.
“Onion growers, in particular, are facing immense hardship. With onion prices crashing in the market, they are unable to recover even their basic cost of production. Although the government has announced official procurement of onions, the actual procurement process has not yet commenced,” Sapkal noted.
He further demanded that the procurement process must be conducted strictly through the Agricultural Produce Market Committees.
He emphasised that instead of prioritizing traders’ profits in the procurement process, the government must prioritize the welfare of farmers and ensure they receive a fair MSP.
With the government failing to provide the expected relief during this crisis, widespread resentment is brewing in rural areas, said Sapkal reiterating that the Congress party and the entire MVA stand firmly behind the farmers, and their struggle will continue until onion growers get a fair price and proper relief.
(IANS)
