Accordingly ncp president sharad pawar on monday joined a protest by onion farmers in Maharashtra’s Nashik district and demanded that the ban on export of the key kitchen staple be lifted immediately. Several farmers staged a ‘rasta roko’ (road blockade) on the Mumbai-Agra National Highway against the Centre’s decision to ban onion exports till march 31, 2024. Addressing onion growers in Chandwad village of Nashik, Pawar claimed the central government was ignoring the hard work of farmers and said cultivators need to be united and demand their rights. “Nashik can show the way,” said the former Union minister, who participated in the protest.
“I will go to New delhi tomorrow and raise the issue with the authorities concerned as well as in the ongoing parliament session. The state and Union government have the responsibility to help farmers,” he said. The Centre has banned onion exports till march 31 next year to increase domestic availability and to keep prices in check. Several activists of the ncp, Congress, shiv sena (UBT), CPM and various farmers’ organisations also participated in the agitation held at an intersection on Mumbai-Agra National Highway here.
The protesters organised a morcha from the Chandwad Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) and reached the highway where they staged ‘rasta roko’ (road blockade). Meanwhile, onion auctions, which were stopped indefinitely in wholesale markets of the district from Saturday, started at most places on Monday. At the Lasalgaon APMC, the country’s biggest wholesale onion market, 150 vehicles of onions arrived. The average onion price was Rs 2,200 per quintal, ranging from a minimum of Rs 1,500 per quintal to a maximum of Rs 2,600 per quintal. onion auctions also began at Vinchur and Niphad sub-committees of the Lasalgaon APMC on Monday.
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