Drama outside Mantralaya in Mumbai: Farmers protest against Maha govt, throw tur dal, banana

Farmers want the Devendra Fadnavis-led Bharatiya Janata Party government should buy their tur dal stock from them, as its prices are falling.

In high drama outside Mantralaya in Mumbai on Tuesday, farmers from across Maharashtra protested against the Maharashtra government’s policies by throwing tur dal and bananas .

Protesters outside Mantralaya in Mumbai. (HT)

Their demand: the Devendra Fadnavis-led Bharatiya Janata Party government should buy their tur dal stock from them, as its prices are falling. They also demanded CID probe over alleged scam in procurement of tur from farmers.

Dhananjay Munde, leader of Opposition in the legislative council, too, joined the protest.

The 15-20 protesters were arrested by the police.

After the Central government refused to extend the deadline for procurement of the crop at the minimum support price to prevent loss to the farmers, the state government has decided to encourage farmers to opt for the agricultural produce mortgage scheme to avoid a distress sale to traders.

The government, till April 25, procured only around 3.99 lakh tonnes of the total production of 20.35 lakh tonnes in the state, which has left a large number of tur-producing farmers unhappy.