Karnataka: Tomato prices surge as excess rains hit supply; onion prices crash
Bengaluru: The price of tomatoes has skyrocketed and is expected to touch Rs 100 per kg in the retail market in the coming days.
Farmers are attributing the reduced tomato yield to the heavy rains. Lakshman Gowda, a tomato farmer from Kolar, explained that the rainfall this year has led to a poor harvest. “This along with virus attacks has reduced the yield drastically while the demand has remained high. Hence the prices have shot up,” Deccan Herald quoted Lakshman Gowda, a tomato farmer from Kolar, as saying.
Dealers at the Kolar Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) have reported a 40% drop in the arrival of tomatoes at the market.
Srinath, a dealer at Kolar APMC, explained that they previously received around 3,500 tonnes of tomatoes daily, but that number has now fallen to approximately 2,000 tonnes. “While crop loss in Karnataka has brought down the yield, the bad rains in Maharashtra has meant that a lot of produce from Karnataka is also being sent to meet the demand in North India. Hence the crisis,” DH quoted him as saying.
Meanwhile, onion prices have seen a sharp reversal. In contrast to the soaring prices of tomatoes, onions are now available for as low as Rs 5 per kilogram in the wholesale market. Dealers at the Yeshwantpur APMC market have pointed to the moist weather conditions, which have damaged onion crops, leading to a surplus of low-quality produce.
“Of the onions coming to the market, only about 10% is good and the rest is of poor quality. The rains damaged the crops bringing the yield down and now the moist weather conditions have meant that many are rotting even during transportation. Since good quality onion is not available, the price has remained low,” the newspaper quoted Ravi Shankar from the Yeshwantpur APMC yard as saying.
The situation is reportedly expected to persist for at least the next two months, after which some relief is anticipated.
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
