Mumbaiites, stock up on your veggies, farmers are protesting by spilling milk, emptying onion trucks

Mumbai city news: Mumbai gets around 160 tonnes of vegetables from only Nashik daily, besides other parts of Maharashtra

Although with fewer supplies, vegetable markets in Mumbai opened on Thursday, even as farmers continued their strike in Maharashtra in support of various demands, including the long-pending loan waiver package, here on Thursday.

Farmers empty onion trucks at Pimpri, Pune. (HT File)

If the strike continues beyond a couple of days, major cities like Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, Nagpur and others may experience severe shortages of milk, fresh fruits, vegetables, foodgrains and other items of daily requirements, said Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana leader and MP Raju Shetti.

People buy vegetables from Dadar market. (Kunal Patil/HT)

Mumbai, the country’s biggest city with a population of around 17 million, gets around 160 tonnes of vegetables from only Nashik daily, besides other parts of Maharashtra, which started declining from early today, leading to a 20-30 per cent hike in retail prices. The APMC market in Vashi near Mumbai opened with fewer supplies on Thursday. Traders, however, said that the effect will be visible from Saturday.

The APMC market in Vashi has enough supplies for now. (Bachchan Kumar)

Striking farmers, who had warned they would not indulge in any farming activity, including sowing for the upcoming kharif season, resorted to the agitation after talks with the Maharashtra government failed on Tuesday.

Supply trucks reach Pune. (HT)

Stray incidents of violence were reported from some parts including Nashik, Satara, Kolhapur and Pune where aggressive farmers emptied at least two tankers with several tonnes of fresh milk being transported to the cities, destroyed stocks of fresh vegetables, tomatoes, onions, being taken to markets.

Watch the protest, here

In another incident near Satara, the driver of a milk tanker was manhandled by some farmers and prevented from proceeding to his destination to transport the commodity, while stones were pelted at some vegetable and police vehicles near Nashik.

The strike has elicited “good response” from farmers all over the state, except from agriculturists in the coastal Konkan, who are not part of the agitation.