Not interested in meeting Nitish: Hardik Patel
Patna, June 29: Patel Navnirman Sena (PNS) President Hardik Patel on Friday said he has no interest in meeting Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as the latter has joined hands with the BJP.
The Patidar agitation leader, who arrived here on Friday, however, expressed his desire to meet Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad and his younger son Tejashwi Yadav.
"Nitish Kumar has changed his path... he is with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) now. There is no use to meet him and talk to him because I am against the BJP," Patel told the media after arriving here to attend some functions.
"I am keen to meet Lalu Prasad and talk to him but I was told he is in Mumbai, undergoing treatment there," he said, adding he would now meet Tejashwi Yadav, the Leader of Opposition in the state assembly.
Earlier, dozens of youth received him at Patna airport and shouted slogans in his favour.
Last time, when Patel visited Patna in December 2016, he went directly to the Chief Minister's official residence from Patna airport. He was also given VIP treatment by the state government. But this time, things seem to be different.
Nitish Kumar belongs to the agrarian Kurmi caste, and Patel belongs to the Patel caste, the powerful Other Backward Class (OBC) caste in Gujarat, just like the Kurmis in Bihar.
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Consumers feeling the heat of rising tender coconut prices in Karnataka
Bengaluru: The cost of tender coconuts has skyrocketed in Karnataka, with retail prices now ranging between Rs 50 and Rs 60 per coconut. In parts of North India, prices have even touched Rs 80 to Rs 100. This price hike is reportedly attributed to a combination of extreme temperatures in Northern India and lower yields in Karnataka, which has been facing its own heatwave.
Maddur, the largest market for tender coconuts in India, has seen average wholesale prices fluctuating between Rs 38 and Rs 50 per coconut over the past three months. Retail prices are higher and depend upon distance from key markets such as Davangere, Tumakuru, Mandya, Hassan, and others as reported by Deccan Herald on Saturday.
During June and July of this year, tender coconuts were available for around Rs 35 in Karnataka, the country's leading coconut producer. However, prices have spiked due to a variety of factors. According to the state government's online agriculture marketing information website, Krishi Marata Vahini, wholesale prices have risen by at least Rs 10,000 per 1,000 coconuts compared to last year.
V. Rajannab, Deputy Director of the Tumakuru APMC Yard, attributed the supply disruption to the "heatwave conditions of the summer of 2024," explaining that farmers could harvest only 30% to 40% of their expected yield. He told the news outlet that the increased demand from North Indian states has further driven up prices in the local market. Nearly 60% of Karnataka's tender coconuts are shipped to North India, with states like Jammu and Kashmir and Gujarat now seeking supplies, he added.
Officials from the horticulture department have suggested that the high price of ball copra could also have impacted the supply of tender coconut. “The price of ball copra has more than doubled in the last three months, going from Rs 8,000 to Rs 18,000 a tonne. There is a general feeling that the price could go further high, which is why most of the farmers are not harvesting tender coconuts,” Horticulture Deputy Director Kadiregowda was quoted as saying by DH.
However, there is some hope for price relief in the near future. With copious rains this monsoon, the yield is anticipated to improve, which could further help stabilise the market and bring prices down in the coming weeks.
