Govt blamed for apple carton shortage

Tribune News Service

Shimla, September 18

The Himachal Kisan Sabha and the Himachal Seb Utpadak Sangh (HSUS) today blamed the government for the shortage of apple cartons and crash in fruit prices this year. The farmers would stage a protest at Narkanda on September 23.

Addressing a press conference here, HSUS president Rakesh Singha, secretary Sanjay Chauhan, and president, HKS, Dr Kuldip Tanwar stated that the commission agents and traders, including private companies like the Adanis, were controlling the supply and determining the prices of apples.

He said it was shocking that controlled atmospheric stores of the HPMC in Jarol Tikkar, Oddi, Gumma and Patlikuhl had been rented to companies and commission agents.

Though Kashmir apples were not coming to markets, the prices of Himachal apples had not picked up.

The market fee, which is 1 per cent of the produce sold in the market, was collected from commission agents from the market area of Narkanda, though it had no market yard.

Commission agents were overcharging from Rs 10 to Rs 100 per box in different markets in violation of the APMC Act. The Act provided that only Rs 5 could be taken from the farmers, Singha said.

Farmers were buying trays at Rs 9 per piece instead of Rs 4 fixed by the government due to hoarding and black-marketing. Illegal marketing fee of Rs 3 per carton was being charged from farmers in Shoghi and Parwanoo.