Activists of the Congress party and lemon farmers, led by former Union Minister Chinta Mohan, staged a protest demonstration near the Poddalakur Market in SPSR Nellore district on Wednesday, demanding that the Union and State governments immediately bail out the lemon growers from losses. The farmers dumped lemons on the road as a mark of protest.
Leading the protest, Mr. Chinta Mohan said: “Orchard owners in Nellore district are in deep trouble with the price of the citrus fruit dropping to below ₹10 per kg.” It had been a fluctuating market for the orchard owners as the price of fruit crops went up and down depending on the demand in the north and east India, he explained and pressed for intervention by the governments to ensure that the farmers got at least the minimum support price.
The lemon farmers had incurred expenditures to the tune of ₹60,000 for farm inputs and maintenance of the orchards. They were not in a position to break even in the wake of the market crash, the former MP said.
He added that unseasonal rains had crashed the hopes of farmers for a good harvest this year.
They had been facing trouble from the days of the COVID-19 pandemic as they could not transport their produce to other parts of the country given the lockdown. The farmers were now reluctant to harvest the crop as labour and transportation cost would be an additional burden to them, he said.
Usually, the rate of lemon goes up to ₹80 per kg in summer and drops drastically during the rainy season due to lack of demand. If voted to power, the Congress party would facilitate the setting up of lemon processing units so that the farmers would get a fair price, he promised.
He also led a protest by the villagers of Muthukur, where many coal-based power plants and palm oil processing units are located. They demanded immediate steps by the authorities to reduce the alarming levels of air and water pollution, causing them many health problems.
Congress would fight for the downing of the shutters of the industrial units if remedial steps were not taken within a reasonable time, he added.
