Traders fleece drought-hit farmers
Even as farmers of Gondia and Bhandara districts are battling for survival in face of worst ever drought in these districts, the
fertiliser traders have not flinched from fleecing them even now. It is an open secret in these districts that fertilizers are being sold far above the maximum retail price (MRP). The agriculture officials are aware of this fact but have turned a blind eye to the practice.
Vasant Sahare, a small farmer of Sirsi village, told TOI that the fertilizer shop in Mohadi (the nearest big village) was selling a bag of urea for Rs 280 against MRP of Rs 251. “The shopkeeper gives us a bill for MRP so we can’t go to the consumer court. He tells us that there is shortage of urea in the country and hence the prices have gone up. There is always a long queue at his shop and if anybody tries to reason with him, the shopkeeper simply tells the person to buy from another shop.
However, he does not charge extra from the big farmers and those with political influence,” he said.
His neighbour Bandu Gaidhane said that the farmers were helpless as the government officers got hafta (bribe) from the shopkeepers and had no interest in stopping the malpractice. “We have already lost thousands due to the drought. Paying this extra money is really hurting us,” he said.
Gaidhane said that only the farmers who supplied milk to Jaikrushna Dairy in Mohadi were getting fertilizers at MRP as the dairy had purchased it in bulk and was selling at MRP to those associated with it. Farmers of Mundikota village told TOI they had purchased urea for as high as Rs 300.
Gondia district collector Avinash Zade said that he had read reports in local newspapers about this practice and ordered agriculture department officials to conduct a survey. “The agriculture officials told me that all the reports were baseless and fertilizers were being sold at MRP only,” he said.