Demanding fair price, Madhya Pradesh farmers stage half-naked protest

Burhanpur/Indore: Amidst protests by farmers over falling banana prices in Madhya Pradesh's Burhanpur district, a cultivator of the fruit has vowed to remain half-naked until the government intervenes, PTI reported.

Burhanpur on the Maharashtra border is the largest banana-producing district of Madhya Pradesh, and the livelihood of many local farmers depends on the crop.

But the fruit is currently fetching only Rs 2 or 3 per kilogram, claimed Kishore Vasankar (44), a farmer from the district, adding that farmers are making losses and sinking into debt.

"Until the local farmers get fair price for their produce, I will not wear any clothes on my upper body and shoes on my feet," he told PTI.

The banana crop in Burhanpur has not been insured under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana since 2018, while farmers in Maharashtra are benefiting from this central scheme, claimed Vasankar.

"Traders are buying bananas from farmers at dirt cheap prices and selling at high rates in the retail market," he added.

Meanwhile, a large number of farmers with their tractors staged a protest in Burhanpur city on Thursday, demanding that the crop be included under the Prime Minister's Crop Insurance Scheme.

The protesters also tried to enter the District Magistrate's office, but the police stopped them. The glass of the office entrance was broken in the melee, eyewitnesses said.

However, City Superintendent of Police Gaurav Patil said the farmers were pacified and the protest ended peacefully.