TIRUCHY: The three-day long protest organised by the tomato traders and load men in Gandhi market came to an end on Wednesday. However, customers, as a result, were burdened to bear its impacts as price of the shot up to Rs 100 per kg. Prior to the protest, the price stood at Rs 30 per kg. With the protest coming to end, the traders expressed hope over the price coming down.
The loaders went on a strike following disagreements with tomato shop owners over wage revision. With the intervention of police and district authorities, the issue was resolved on Wednesday night. Tomato price, throughout the three days, was on a sharp rise.
Khaleel Rahman, a trader, said "We raised the price of tomatoes because we were not able to place orders at the markets in Andhra Pradesh. The price will come down in the coming days." Siva Kumar, a trade union leader, said, "The situation was avoidable. The traders failed to comply with our demands and police had to intervene.
All we asked for was a hike in wages in every two years. With the protest, we were able to raise our wage from Rs 9.45 to Rs 11 per box of tomatoes." However, P Mohan, the president of Southern Consumer and People Protection Movement, said, "It is always the consumers who bear the cost. The officials should have stepped in before the protest started."