Opposition attacks Yogi as potatoes pave roads

LUCKNOW: Tonnes of potatoes were found dumped on roads leading to upscale locations in Lucknow on Saturday morning. While the district administration called it mischief, the Opposition cried hoarse, calling it a protest by potato growers. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, however, assured the potato farmers that the support price of their produce would be increased if needed.

Potato farmers in Uttar Pradesh have been protesting against the low prices of their produce by dumping potatoes in the open across the potato belt, which comprises districts such as Agra, Mathura, Aligarh, Etawah, Kannauj, Mainpuri, Hathras and Farrukhabad. A glut in production and a drive by stockists to empty their cold stores for the new stock has caused the prices to fall. The farmers are demanding a support price of `10 per kilogram against the current price of `4.87 a kilo.

Tonnes of rotten potatoes were found on the roads in front of the state Assembly and the governor and the CM’s houses, catching the city police unawares early on Saturday morning. Footage from CCTV cameras shows a vehicle laden with sacks of potatoes unloading the produce on various roads.

Lucknow DM Kaushal Raj Sharma said that a truck loaded with sacks of potatoes dumped them in various parts of the city early on Saturday morning. “Now, whether this has been done by the farmers or by someone else is yet to be ascertained. So far, no farmers’ group has claimed any responsibility for this act,” he said.

The farmers are protesting despite the fact that the government, for the first time, has fixed a minimum support price for potato, at Rs 487 per quintal, in a bid to help potato growers.

Glut and gloom
Potato farmers are demanding a support price of `10 per kilogram against the current price of `4.87 a kilo
A glut in production and a drive by stockists to empty their cold stores for the new stock has caused the prices to fall