Bouncers To Protect Tomatoes In UP, Free Tomatoes With Smartphone In MP

As the price of tomatoes reaches sky-high, a grocer has deployed bouncers to protect the vegetable in Varanasi, PTI reported.

Yes, a vegetable seller in the Lanka area of Varanasi has roped in two bouncers to prevent buyers from getting aggressive while haggling the tomato prices, which have soared almost across the country, virtually making them a luxury item.

Ajay Fauji, a Samajwadi Party worker, had earlier cut a tomato-shaped cake in Varanasi on the birthday of Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav.

"I kept hearing about arguments over the tomato price among people. People at my shop too tried to haggle. So to put an end to the constant arguments, I decided to deploy bouncers in uniform at my cart," the news agency quoted Fauji as saying.

The bouncers will be working at his cart from 9 am to 5 pm. However, Fuji has not revealed the amount being paid to the bouncers as their remuneration. "No one will provide bouncers free of cost."

On asking if hiring bouncers at his cart has helped him, Fauji said even though people are coming in the same numbers, they are less militant about the pricing now.

SP chief Akhilesh Yadav too shared the image of a news clip relating to Fauji and his bouncers and tweeted, "The BJP should provide 'Z-Plus' security to tomatoes."

However, the PTI has deleted the tweet as his motive for giving the information to the news agency was questionable. "We have, therefore, removed the tweet. We erred in not verifying the antecedents of the source for the story, and failed to meet the high standards of accuracy and fairness we set for ourselves. We assure our readers that PTI remains committed to delivering accurate and unbiased news," the tweet read.

Meanwhile, a smartphone shop owner in Madhya Pradesh's Ashok Nagar is giving tomatoes to customers free of cost with mobile phones. "Since tomatoes have become expensive and we wanted to offer something to customers due to increased competition in the market, we decided to offer tomatoes with smartphones," says shop owner Abhishek Agarwal.

The shop, which gives 2 kg tomato on purchasing a smartphone, is located n Ashok Nagar.

The rise in the price is attributed to the prevailing heatwave in key tomato-growing areas and heavy rains, leading to a disruption in supply chains. More importantly, tomatoes have a lower shelf life, which is also believed to be having a bearing on their prices.