Apple cultivators gherao HP agriculture, horticulture ministers

SHIMLA: Irked over steep fall in the wholesale prices of apples, fruit cultivators ‘gheraoed’ Himachal’s agriculture minister Virender Kanwar and horticulture minister Mahender Singh Thakur for more than three hours outside a rest house about 28km from the main town of Shimla .

Kanwar and Thakur were on their way to Parala fruit market when a group of apple cultivators stopped their cavalcade.

BJP’S Chopal legislator Balbir Verma and APMC chairperson Naresh Sharma were also accompanying them. The farmers raised slogans against Thakur, who drew flak over his statement asking the apple growers to sell fruit on the roadside in plastic crates .

The fruit growers had gathered at Theog to attend a meeting of Samyukt Kisan Manch that had announced a protest against the “corporate loot” on September 13.

The farmers also had a scuffle with the policemen who tried to clear the way for ministers. After the situation became tense, the police deputed quick response teams as the traffic on the national highway was blocked for more than half an hour.

Kanwar and Thakur tried to pacify the agitating farmers, while Chopal legislator Balbir Verma intervened and convinced the farmers to talk to the ministers at a PWD resthouse in Theog . Thakur clarified that his statements were misunderstood and he had only suggested alternatives to sell the crop.

Leaders of the Samyukt Kisan Manch, Harisha Chauhan and Sanjay Chauhan, along with Sandeep Verma , Mahendra Verma, and Sohan Thakur, had gathered in Theog to draw strategy for the agitation.