#ViralVideo: As no one buys his crops, farmer destroys pomegranates
A heartbreaking video showing a farmer destroying his pomegranates, as no one bought them, has surfaced on social media and almost everyone has expressed concern. The video was shared by journalist Sayantan Bera of Mint and has raised questions about the condition of farmers. Bera revealed no one bought the fruits even for Rs. 10/kg, hence the Maharashtra farmer threw them away.
This video will haunt us for years
1.30 lakh hectares of Maharashtra land is cultivated for pomegranates
Out of the 1.80 lakh hectares of area under pomegranate cultivation in India, 1.30 lakh hectares is in Maharashtra alone. The districts of Pune, Solapur, Jalna, Satara, and Sangli, lead the cultivation of this fruit, which is exported to EU. This year, All India Pomegranate Growers Federation was aiming to export 10,000 tonnes of pomegranate to Europe and 70,000 tonnes to other countries.
But the drought crushed their dreams
The plans to export the fruit, however, went south as 50% of the crops was affected due to drought. Prabhakar Chandane, the President of the body, said with these numbers business looks dim. He demanded an immediate Rs. 15,000 per acre relief for the farmers. The government should also increase the subsidy for construction of water tanks, the federation demanded.
Twitter is abuzz after video surfaced
While there is little detail about what the government is doing to provide relief to farmers, the video has alarmed many. Journalist Faye D'Souza tweeted: This is heartbreaking. It takes 4 years for a pomegranate tree to start bearing fruit. Consider this man's desperation, while Rituparna Chatterjee wrote it was heartbreaking. Actress Swara Bhasker also said the crisis was real and steps are needed.
Concrete steps are needed, Swara tweets
Earlier, a video of farmer crying had gone viral
In what serves as a reminder that farmers all over the country are equally distressed, a video of a Kashmiri farmer crying over his damaged apple crops had gone viral. The early snowfall in the northernmost state affected his crops and his wails hurt everyone.
