CPI(M) and local protesters Gherao Horticulture & Agriculture Minister

Theog Unit of CPI( M) and local apple growers today gherao the Horticulture Minister Mahinder Singh Thakur and Agriculture Minister Varendra Kanwar at Theog market over the failure of JaiRam Government to facilitates the apple season help the affected farmers after crashing of market.
It is worthwhile to mention here that Horticulture Minister Mr Mahender Singh Thakur gave a statement to the media recently that farmers should sell their apple corp in the streets carrying fruits in trays or crats which agitated the farmers.
Mr Thakur  and Agriculture Minsiter were on the way to Paral apple market of Agricultural Produce Marketing Committeeto met with the apple growers and commission agents to meditate on the issue however number of farmers led bythe local CPI(M) activists and number of apple growers codroned and Gherao their convey while they were on the wayto Parala around 1400 hrs on Friday.
Agitated farmers wanted to explain the horticulture minister’s logic behind his statement to sell Apple like a vendor on the road side. Protesters shouted slogan against the minster  and Jai Ram Government for immature and absurd statementsand not coming in support of apple growers who are affected by the Monopoly of apple cartels comprising of big corporates houses.
Local CPI(M) leader Sohan Singh said that agrigresh have artificially created the slump in the market as it decreased the prices ofapple for procurement by Rs 16 per kig and forced hundreds of farmers to bear the lossfull propositions. 
Himachal Pradesh Kissan Sabha president Dr Kuldeep Singh Tanwar and Secretary Dr Onkar Shad demanded the resignation of Mr Thakur being ignorant about the horticulture activists despite being minister for last three and half years. Minister should tender apology to farmers to misguide them.
The two leader said that Minister should not be ignorant of the fact that apple crops which is likely to have production of three Crore boxes in the present season could not be carried in open trays and crates like Potatos. The statement of minister was criticised by the left farmers leaders stating that minister did not harm the interest of farmers by making statement but his views are against the experts and horticulture and Agriculture scientists whom he lead.
HKS alleged that the statement also exposed Mr Thakur’s role as member of council of ministers for the servingthe berth about which he is not familiar and shown no serious interest . Farmers in the state especially fruit  mocking on the statement in sharp words that minister passed aspersions at the time when apple growers facing the burnt of slump in the market and being bullied by the middlemen and corporates houses .
Dr Tanwar said that in the state of Jummu and Kashmir state agencies purchased 60 pc c-grade apple from farmersat the price of Rs 24 per kg however the corporate houses are offering Rs 12 per kg to small and less colour apple B and C category apple.        

It is not feasible to carry the apple crops being produced in bulk in the trays and crates as some time it took four to five days to reach the market and it may be damaged and bruised while in transportation in such a bluck state.
Kissan Sabha said that the state could not ignore the Rs 5000 Crore apple economy which rendered the livelihood of about four lakhs households. After the Gherao the Mr Knawar and Thakur talk with local party leader and apple growers at Theogto pacify them  and understand their issues.
The Government is trying to shows their efforts to promote the apple industries by promising to built up new market yards and cold storage however the most of cold storage developed by the state agencies are with the corporate houses or HPMC which is also leasing out to the corporate houses and middle men instead of farmers, Kisan Sabha leader informed.
State Government have laid the target to produce about 2.49 Crore apple boxes or cartoon in this season however around one Crore apple boxers could be sold by the apple growers so far\, Harish Chauhan the Himachal Pradesh Apple grower associations affiliated with the BKU claimed . He said that state Government have no road map to market and arrange theapple season when about two and half crore apple boxes are yet to be pick up by the apple growers.
He said that corporate houses of Adani , Tata, Reliance etc are procuring only a minuscule amount of  productions howeverthey are depreciating the market sentiments by projecting the apple rate on the lower side .