If some people feel the present onion prices are unreasonable they should stop eating onion for the next three to four months". These are the words of Minister and Shinde Shiv Sena leader Dada Bhuse. Let's understand the full story but before that, if you are watching this on Facebook do like our page and if you are watching this on Youtube do subscribe to HW News English. Amidst ongoing protests by farmers and traders against the central government's decision to levy a 40 percent export duty on onions, Maharashtra Minister, Dada Bhuse, has stirred controversy with his statement. "When you use a vehicle worth Rs 10 lakh, you can buy produce at a higher rate by Rs 10 or Rs 20 than the retail rate. Those who cannot afford to buy onion, it would make no difference if they do not eat it for two-four months," Mr Bhuse had said.
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#Onions #OnionPrice #Maharashtra #MaharashtraNews #Farmers #HWNews #FarmersProtest #OnionPriceHike #OnionExport #Onion
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00:00 If some people feel the present onion prices are unreasonable, they should stop eating
00:07 onions for the next 3-4 months.
00:11 These are the words of Minister and Shinde Shiusena leader Dada Bhuse.
00:17 Let's understand the full story but before that if you are watching this on Facebook
00:22 do like our page and if you are watching this on YouTube do subscribe to HW News English.
00:28 Amid ongoing protest by farmers and traders against the Central Government's decision
00:34 to levy a 40% export duty on onions, Maharashtra Minister Dada Bhuse has stirred controversy
00:45 with his statement.
00:46 "When you use a vehicle worth Rs 10 lakh, you can buy a produce at a higher rate by
00:53 Rs 10 or Rs 20 than the retail rate.
00:57 Those who cannot afford to buy onion, it would make no difference if they do not eat it for
01:04 2-4 months," Mr Bhuse had said.
01:08 Mr Bhuse also said that even though the imposition of export duty was intended to curb rising
01:15 prices and stabilizing domestic supplies, it should have been executed in a more coordinated
01:21 manner.
01:22 The government imposed the 40% export duty on August 19 in order to stem price increase
01:29 in the staple.
01:31 On Monday, farmers and traders shut down onion markets in Nashik, Asia's largest trading
01:38 centre for the vegetable.
01:40 They pledged not to buy or sell onions until the 40% export duty is lifted.
01:46 Today, Union Minister Piyush Goyal reassured the farmers that the government will initiate
01:52 the purchase of the additional 2 lakh ton onions for the buffer stock from onion farmers
01:59 in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and other areas.
02:03 The minister informed the farmers that they will be provided appropriate remuneration
02:08 for their produce and the government will purchase the onions at Rs 2,410 per quintal.
02:16 Earlier this year, a farmer in Maharashtra's Nashik district, furious for not getting the
02:22 right value for his produce, had set on fire his 1.5 acre onion farm.
02:29 Now why is that the government always remembers the farmers only during the elections?
02:35 According to the data provided by the Maharashtra government, 1023 farmers committed suicide
02:41 since the Shinde Fadnavis government came to power.
02:45 The major reason behind this rise in price is because Nashik reported multiple days of
02:51 hailstorms in March just when farmers had started their harvest.
02:57 Rough estimates say that this affected around 40% of onion crops, of which around 20% had
03:04 to be ploughed back in due to quality concerns.
03:08 Also, farmers who generally offload their rabi onions only post-June were forced to
03:15 do so from May itself because of quality concerns of the stored produce.
03:20 Therefore, the month of May saw increased arrivals which along with the imperial quality
03:26 saw a price crash.
03:29 The Maharashtra government had then announced a special scheme to support onion growers
03:34 with a subsidy of Rs 300 per quintal.
03:38 Most farmers said the scheme is yet to reach them.
03:42 As a result, the supply-demand mismatch has resulted in the present price rise.
03:49 Let's now come back to Minister Dada Bose's statement.
03:52 When you use a vehicle worth Rs 10 lakh, you can buy a produce at a higher rate by Rs 10
03:57 or 20.
03:58 Those who cannot afford to buy onions, it would make no difference if they do not eat
04:03 it for 2-4 months.
04:05 Now onion is a very essential vegetable.
04:08 And be it breakfast, lunch or dinner, onion is a very important ingredient.
04:14 It's not a privilege to consume onion.
04:16 Kande pohe is a very traditional Maharashtrian cuisine.
04:20 It is consumed by people from the lowest income groups.
04:24 Onion bhajiyas are consumed even by daily wage workers.
04:28 Such statements are bizarre and insensitive.
04:31 In 2019, when opposition leader questioned Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on surging
04:38 onion prices, she had responded saying, "I don't eat a lot of onions and garlic.
04:43 So don't worry.
04:45 I come from a family that doesn't care much for onions.
04:49 A voter expects solutions from lawmakers, not such responses for their problems."
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