On Tuesday, two farmers were killed and four others were injured in firing during a protest in Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh, on Tuesday. However, it is unclear yet who opened fire. The government has ordered a probe into the incident. The Rashtriya Kisaan Mazdoor Sangh has called for a state-wide bandh tomorrow.
As per initial reports, the farmers were killed in police firing, the state home minister said the force had not opened fire on the protestors. He also denied reports that internet services were suspended in the region.
Notably, Maharashtra farmers from numerous villages across Maharashtra are on a strike from June 1 demanding loan waiver from the government. In the protest, these farmers will stop sending their produce to the markets. They have been seeking a loan waiver and a better price for their produce that have been going unmet.
The farmers involved in the strike are from villages in Pune, Nashik, Junnar, Satara and Kolhapur. They have decided that they will not let any produce to be sent to the Agriculture Produce Market Committees (APMC) markets from Thursday. Their strike calls for a complete ban on the supply of milk, vegetables, fruits, and grains. If it lasts for more than 2-3 days, it might have a great impact on the markets across the state.
As farmer’s strike continues to intensify in Maharashtra, it has begun to hit the everyday lives. Due to the strike, which started on June 1, vegetable prices are on a rise in Ahmedabad. As per reports, some vegetables are costing double their price compared to last week. The traders in the city primarily depend on Maharashtra for procuring vegetables such as capsicum, tomato, coriander, bitter gourd, French beans, green chillies, ginger, cauliflower and cucumber.
The prices of vegetables and fruits have been on an upward path in other cities, including Mumbai, due to the drastic fall in supplies from key production centres like Nashik and Ahmednagar.
