Farmers agitate over crash in onion prices

Hubli, Oct 10 (UNI) Hundreds of farmers staged a rasta roko near the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) office located between Hubli and Dharwad, in protest against the sharp fall in the price of onion today.

Traffic was disrupted for more than four hours following the agitation.

Onion prices, which ranged from Rs 300 to Rs 1200 per quintal yesterday, had fallen to Rs 50 to Rs 600 today. Enraged over this sudden fall, farmers, who had brought onions to the market, obstructed the traffic.

Due to heavy rains this year, onion was available at only certain areas and supply was not adequate, while the farmers were expecting better prices. Following today's crash in price, they were upset and shouted slogans against APMC officials.

Senior Police officials and officials from the Revenue Department rushed to the spot and persuaded the farmers to withdraw their agitation.

UNI