Farmers announce bandh tomorrow over eviction

Tribune News Service

Shimla, August 31

The Himachal Seb Utpadak Sangh (HSUS) and Himachal Kisan Sabha (HKS) today announced to observe “Dehat Bandh” on September 2 in protest against the Congress and BJP for failing to stop the eviction drive.

Demanding action against the illegal collection of market fee at the Shoghi and Parwanoo barriers, state presidents of the sangh and sabha Rakesh Singha and Dr Kuldip Tanwar alleged that certain representatives of the Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMCs) and State Agricultural Marketing Board (SAMB) were hand-in-glove with commission agents charging “goonda tax from the farmers at the barriers and sabzi mandis.

“The APMC barrier at Shoghi is charging Rs 7 per carton. The market fee was hiked from Rs 3 to Rs 7 per carton on August 27,” Singha said.

“The fee, as per the APMC Regulation Act-2005, is illegal as the market committee is authorised to charge the amount only if the farmers sell the produce in notified market yards or sabzi mandis,” he said.

Singha held the eviction drive responsible for the market crash that hit apple farmers severely. It was triggered mainly because of the panic created by the eviction drive that forced the farmers to resort to premature plucking of the fruit, resulting in glut in the markets, he said.

As the farmers sprayed the fruit to ripen it, 35 per cent extra fruit arrived in the markets, Singha said.

Both the Congress and BJP failed to debate the eviction issue affecting over 9.6 lakh families in the state. Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today said the eviction of farmers who had encroached upon less than 10 bighas would be stopped. It was a political statement in the Vidhan Sabha, Singha said.

“Even after the Chief Minister’s assurance, the Forest and Revenue Departments are evicting farmers, disconnecting water and electricity connections without following any procedure,” he charged.

Dr Tanwar and Singha claimed that the APMCs were hand-in-glove with the commission agents who were charging union fee of Rs 50 from the farmers at the behest of certain representatives.

“The crash has benefitted private companies such as Adani, Dev Bhumi and others. Adani is buying the fruit for Rs 26 a kg and will sell it for more than Rs 100 after five months,” Singha said.

The farmers cannot store the fruit in CA stores because the HPMC has outsourced its CA stores to private players. “All rebates have been withdrawn for the farmers while the market fee and tax on the goods carried by road have been increased hitting the farmers,” they lamented.