Mobile vans, outlets to run out of veggies today
HERALD REPORTER
PANJIM, FEB 8
The stocks in Goa State Horticulture Development Corporation (GSHDC) outlets and mobile vans will run dry on Wednesday as supply of vegetables from Belgaum has been stopped since Tuesday.
“There is no vegetables supply for tomorrow (Wednesday). Nearly 130 tonnes of vegetables were spoiled by a mob of around 300 wholesalers at Belgaum, which resulted in a loss of around Rs 35 lakh. The truckers commuting vegetables to Goa were threatened and beaten,” GSHDC Chairman Sankalp Amonkar told reporters at a press briefing today evening.
He said that the problem between corporation and wholesalers have been brewing for sometime now. “The wholesalers are backed by political parties who are against our subsidised schemes. They are trying hard to sabotage our efforts to provide fresh and healthy vegetables to Goan consumers,” he said.
Since the Belgaum based wholesalers had refused to provide vegetables, the corporation had brought it from places like Chikmangalore, Nashik and Kolhapur which is assembled in a yard at Belgaum and brought to Goa.
The Karnataka Government’s Agriculture Produce Marketing Corporation’s (APMC) godown is hired by GSHDC to assemble the vegetable before transporting them to Goa. “The protesters today entered APMC godown and assaulted our staff there before spoiling the vegetables and rampaging the trucks,” Amonkar said.
He stated that prices of vegetables sold in the open market are not controlled by any authority. Of the total vegetables brought to Goa, 40 per cent is sold through the corporation’s 350-odd outlets and 246 mobile vans.
“Our initiative of selling vegetables at subsidized rates has hampered the prospects of individual vegetable vendors. These vendors had hiked the prices, which are not monitored. This is their insecurity,” he added.
A high-level delegation headed by the agriculture secretary and Agriculture Director Satish Tendulkar will be visiting Belgaum on Wednesday to sort out the crisis that has triggered after wholesalers from Belgaum has stopped the supply.
He said if the crisis continues the officials may even file a complaint with the police station. He had sought police protection to trucks bringing vegetables to Goa.
The corporation gets around 120 tonnes of vegetables from Belgaum market which is sold at subsidized rates through outlets and mobile vans.
