As agitating farmers sought to cut off supply of vegetables and milk to Mumbai and surrounding areas on Thursday, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis claimed the city is being targeted by those instigating the strike. “At present, there is absolutely no shortage in supply of anything in the city. Necessary arrangements have been made. I don’t think we will need to panic as of now,” he said.
Mr. Fadnavis said if supplies of milk and vegetables from the districts is cut off, the same will be procured from Gujarat and sold in the city. “The city will not suffer, but farmers will face losses.”
According to the State marketing department, Mumbai received its usual supply of 450 trucks of vegetables, 460 trucks of fruits and 150 trucks of onions and potatoes on Thursday. Sources said the fear is supply will be hit a day after the strike and the impact will be felt Saturday onwards.
Mr. Fadnavis claimed the Opposition’s Sangharsh Yatra did not receive popular support, and its organisers are resorting to instigating violence. “The attempt is to pit farmers against the police so that the resultant violence will make matters worse. We have asked authorities to deal leniently with striking farmers. I urge protesters to not hold farmers to ransom. Those pelting stones at vehicles are political party supporters and not farmers.”
The BJP found itself isolated after allies Shiv Sena and Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana (SSS) extended support to the strike. “One must introspect on why farmers are forced to go on strike. One should forget promises made to the share market and fulfil those made to farmers,” Sena MP Sanjay Raut said. “Governance is a collective responsibility. Even if some refuse to accept it, we have to fulfil our responsibility,” said Mr Fadnavis.
“The ruling parties don’t understand farming or farmers, which is why farmers are protesting. Cutting off supplies to cities will cause hardships for residents, for which this government will be responsible,” Ashok Chavan, president, Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC), said.
Supply dips at APMC
Kailash Tajne, president, vegetable market, APMC, said, “Vehicles transporting goods to the APMC may be blocked by agitators, which could lead to a rise in prices. We usually get around 550 to 600 trucks of vegetables every day. Mumbai has a daily need of 1,800 tonnes of vegetables, of which 1,300 tonnes is provided by the APMC market.”
He added that around 150 trucks are sent directly to Byculla, Dadar, Borivali and Dahisar, of which 50 to 70 trucks supply big retailers like Reliance, More and Big Bazaar. “Sixty percent of this vegetable supply is from the State and the remainder is from other States. Trucks coming from other States might not be affected unless they are physically stopped or vandalised.”
He said corn comes from Haryana, snake gourd from Bengal, carrots from MP, cabbage from Karnataka, bitter gourd from Delhi, green peas and capsicum from Himachal Pradesh, little gourd and ladies finger from Gujarat. Nashik, Solapur, Pune, Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur, Junnar and Ahmednagar supply all vegetables except pumpkin, elephant’s foot yam and green peas.
Around 80% of fruits comes from the State and the rest from outside, but their supply is unlikely to be affected by the strike as fruits have a longer shelf life than vegetables. “The market is slow but definitely not in losses. We also have cold storage facilities,” Sitaram Kawarkhe, deputy secretary, fruit market, APMC, said. Grapes, banana, papaya, mosambi, orange, mango, watermelon are produced in Maharashtra. Mango also comes from Gujarat, M.P., Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, U.P. and Bihar, while apples come from Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and are also imported in large quantities.
The grain market, which is supplied by mills and not farmers, will not be affected by the strike. “Grain has been arriving as usual throughout the day. It is packed, branded, sealed and stocked in large quantities. We don’t deal with farmers,” an official from the APMC’s grain market said.
Ashok Walunj, a director on the APMC board representing the onion and potato market, said, “Today, we did have lesser vehicles arriving at the market. However, the impact will be known only on Friday.”
