Tag: onions

  • Sharad Pawar slams Union govt over onion export duty, Manipur violence, ‘misuse’ of probe agencies 

    By PTI

    KOLHAPUR (Maha): Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar on Friday launched a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union government over various issues including the hiked export duty on onions, violence in Manipur and `misuse’ of central agencies against political opponents.

    He was speaking at a rally in Kolhapur, the home district of rebel NCP leader Hasan Mushrif who joined the Eknath Shinde government in Maharashtra last month.

    Pawar’s rally here was his third in the home districts of rebel NCP leaders.

    Earlier, he had held public meetings in Nashik and Beed, the respective home districts of Chhagan Bhujbal and Dhananjay Munde, both of whom have joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government.

    “Farmers need to recover the money spent on growing a crop and also get paid for their efforts. If that is to happen, onions have to be exported across the world. (But) The Modi government has imposed a steep (export) duty of 40 per cent, and now Indian onions do not get buyers (abroad). This led to a fall in onions prices (within India),” Pawar said.

    As agriculture minister (in the Congress-led UPA government between 2004 and 2014) he never imposed export duty on onions and always ensured that the crop was exported, he said.

    “This government’s policy is to come in the way of whatever farmers produce,” Pawar alleged.

    Farmers and traders have been protesting since Monday in Nashik district of Maharashtra against the Centre’s decision to impose a 40 per cent export duty on onions, which they claim will hinder exports and bring down the prices in the domestic markets.

    Pawar also attacked the Narendra Modi government for bringing in contentious farm laws which were withdrawn after massive protests, and said no government has insulted farmers more than the present dispensation.

    Two women were paraded naked amid the violence that broke out in Manipur in May, but those who wield power did not use it to save them, he said.

    Investments meant for Maharashtra are going to Gujarat which is depriving the youth in Maharashtra of employment opportunities, Pawar claimed.

    Alleging that “power is being used to oppress opponents,” he cited the examples of his party colleagues Nawab Malik and Anil Deshmukh and Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut.

    All three were jailed in various cases and are currently out on bail.

    Taking a swipe at Hasan Mushrif, whose properties were raided by the Enforcement Directorate, Pawar said the people who worked with him should have some self-respect.

    “The women of the family said `shoot us instead….we are ready for that.’ If a woman can say this…I have not heard the head of the family saying this,” Pawar said, in an apparent reference to Mushrif.

    After Mushrif’s residence was raided, his wife had told reporters that the authorities should “shoot us instead”.

    Pawar lauded the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scientists for the successful landing of the Chandrayaan-3 mission on the Moon.

    Be it Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Atal Bihari Vajpayee or curent Prime Minister Narendra Modi, everyone took efforts to make ISRO a leading space organisation in the world, the NCP chief said.

    KOLHAPUR (Maha): Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar on Friday launched a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union government over various issues including the hiked export duty on onions, violence in Manipur and `misuse’ of central agencies against political opponents.

    He was speaking at a rally in Kolhapur, the home district of rebel NCP leader Hasan Mushrif who joined the Eknath Shinde government in Maharashtra last month.

    Pawar’s rally here was his third in the home districts of rebel NCP leaders.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2′); });

    Earlier, he had held public meetings in Nashik and Beed, the respective home districts of Chhagan Bhujbal and Dhananjay Munde, both of whom have joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government.

    “Farmers need to recover the money spent on growing a crop and also get paid for their efforts. If that is to happen, onions have to be exported across the world. (But) The Modi government has imposed a steep (export) duty of 40 per cent, and now Indian onions do not get buyers (abroad). This led to a fall in onions prices (within India),” Pawar said.

    As agriculture minister (in the Congress-led UPA government between 2004 and 2014) he never imposed export duty on onions and always ensured that the crop was exported, he said.

    “This government’s policy is to come in the way of whatever farmers produce,” Pawar alleged.

    Farmers and traders have been protesting since Monday in Nashik district of Maharashtra against the Centre’s decision to impose a 40 per cent export duty on onions, which they claim will hinder exports and bring down the prices in the domestic markets.

    Pawar also attacked the Narendra Modi government for bringing in contentious farm laws which were withdrawn after massive protests, and said no government has insulted farmers more than the present dispensation.

    Two women were paraded naked amid the violence that broke out in Manipur in May, but those who wield power did not use it to save them, he said.

    Investments meant for Maharashtra are going to Gujarat which is depriving the youth in Maharashtra of employment opportunities, Pawar claimed.

    Alleging that “power is being used to oppress opponents,” he cited the examples of his party colleagues Nawab Malik and Anil Deshmukh and Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut.

    All three were jailed in various cases and are currently out on bail.

    Taking a swipe at Hasan Mushrif, whose properties were raided by the Enforcement Directorate, Pawar said the people who worked with him should have some self-respect.

    “The women of the family said `shoot us instead….we are ready for that.’ If a woman can say this…I have not heard the head of the family saying this,” Pawar said, in an apparent reference to Mushrif.

    After Mushrif’s residence was raided, his wife had told reporters that the authorities should “shoot us instead”.

    Pawar lauded the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scientists for the successful landing of the Chandrayaan-3 mission on the Moon.

    Be it Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Atal Bihari Vajpayee or curent Prime Minister Narendra Modi, everyone took efforts to make ISRO a leading space organisation in the world, the NCP chief said.

  • Will onions make you cry again? Onion prices in the wholesale market rose 28 percent in two days

    After removing the ban on onion exports from January 1, onion prices in Lasalgaon wholesale market of Nashik increased by 28 percent to Rs 2,500 per quintal in two days. The government on Monday lifted the export ban on all its varieties from January 1 due to the declining prices of onions. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a notification, “Export of all varieties of onions has been exempted from January 1, 2021.

    Lasalgaon APMC secretary Narendra Vadhwane said that onion prices on Monday were on average Rs 1,951 per quintal in Lasalgaon wholesale market and since then the price of this vegetable has been steadily increasing in the market. On Tuesday, onion prices averaged Rs 2,400 per quintal and on Wednesday it rose to Rs 2,500 a quintal. Thus, the price has increased by about 28 percent in the last two days.

    Similarly, the retail price of onion in the national capital also saw an increase of 25-42 percent. The price of onion was Rs 35-40 per kg on Monday, which has increased to Rs 50 per kg on Wednesday. In September, the government had banned the export of onions due to the rise in prices and to increase availability in the domestic market. DGFT, a division of the Ministry of Commerce, deals with export and import-related issues. Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka are the top three onion growing states of the country. India is one of the largest onion exporting countries. Its export destinations include Nepal and Bangladesh.

  • Drinking water and additional income for the joint family of Sulochini

    Both daily use water and drinking water supply became a major challenge for an Adivasi family living away from the village’s main road. There was a shortage of drinking water due to the joint tribal family of 17 people with no permanent means of water, as well as it was a compulsion to go to the water in the morning to get relief. Under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, the family, who got the diagnosis of the problem reached under the year 2017 Hamar Gaon Hamar Yojana, solved this problem by the well received under the Mahatma Gandhi NREGA scheme. The family of Sulochini Devi is now jointly using the perennial of the well for its daily use and now this family is working hard in the fields around their well, leaving a blank in the Rabi crop and in the fields potato onion tomato radish By planting vegetables like these, every year additional income of 25 to 30 thousand rupees has also started earning.

    Suleachini Devi is now very old, her family’s son Sukhiram is the only one who takes care of farming and household. Sukhiram said that there was a huge benefit from the well’s construction. The biggest problem was for drinking water in the rain. She is now finished with the well being built. Also, there is always plenty of water available for the daily use of the whole family. After the paddy crop, we could not do anything, to work for others or to go for wages under MNREGA was the only option. But now well after the paddy crop, the mustard planted low water consuming crops like potato pea. With this, 25 to 30 thousand rupees are earned from vegetable cultivation. This year, Sukhiram had already planted a crop of radish and lalabhaji, which he has earned by selling 9 thousand rupees. Also, radish crop is also being prepared in his second field. With the creation of a well under MNREGA, this family of Sulochini Devi has now become self sufficient for their daily needs from the well as a small means of drinking water and irrigation.