Mathadis, traders protest policy on wholesale trade
The Maharashtra Rajya Mathadi, Transport and General Kamgar Union along with Fruit and Vegetable merchants association jointly held a protest meet in the onion-potato market of APMC on Tuesday and shut the wholesale market for half a day.
The traders and mathadis were protesting against the state government’s decision to exclude vegetables, fruits, onion and potato from the APMC Act.
MLA Shashikant Shinde and MLC Narendra Patil were present at the protest and support the traders and office bearers of various associations.
Patil said, “The state government is trying to control the market rate through wholesale market. However, there is no state government control on retail market. The grocery stores and other vendors sell the produce at whatever price they want to.”
Patil said the inflation is due to the retail market and not wholesale market, which is regulated.
“If you do not have a wholesale market, which the government is aiming at, there will not Traders and workers strike work for half a day to protest at the onion-potato market on Tuesday.
be any control on anything. At least in the wholesale market, government can prevent price rise and so vegetable, fruit wholesale markets are required,” said Patil.
He added: “We are not going to tolerate ad hoc decisions by the government and will fight for our rights and livelihood.”
Shinde said, “We had got a revised plan approved during the tenure of the last government. Since it was in the last stage, we waited. We expect the present government to take heed of our sentiments. They have called us for a meeting and so we expect them to take into account our objections.”
Shinde warned that if that does not happen, they would decide their future course of action.
