Yard chiefs to meet CM

RAJKOT, November 25: While bowing to the Rajkot district co-operative registrar's directive, the Gondal marketing yard resumed trading in gr...

RAJKOT, November 25: While bowing to the Rajkot district co-operative registrar8217;s directive, the Gondal marketing yard resumed trading in groundnut on Tuesday amidst police security, yard chairman Ramesh Dhaduk announced he would take a delegation to Gandhinagar to hammer out a solution with Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel tomorrow.

Dhaduk, who is also the chairman of the State Agro-Market Board, issued a plea to the chairmen of all the major 56 yards as well as the MLAs from Saurashtra-Kutch to join the delegation.

However, evading his reaction to the plea, Rajkot marketing yard chairman Shamjibhai Khunt told mediapersons here that farmers were meeting in the city on December 2 to chalk out protest plans.

8220;The Gondal yard ignored the farmers8217; cause and welfare for which the strike has begun8221;, Khunt said on the third consecutive day of groundnut growers8217; strike on Wednesday. He said the BJP government was 8220;anti-farmer8221; and pursuing a policy exactly opposite to the one spelt by the same party at the Centre.

Referring to the registrar8217;s warning to yards yesterday, former Congress MP from Amreli Manubhai Kotadia said the government had failed to appreciate the problems being faced by the farmers in the region, which were very peculiar and different from those being faced by tea producers in Assam and farmers in Punjab. The government should realise how it had been harming the farmers8217; interest, he said, adding the BJP had no right to claim to be pro-farmers.

Describing the agitation as non-violent, with no political motives, Kotadia alleged only the corrupt officials and the black-marketeers were benefitting from the government stand on restrictions on the movement of groundnut and oil.

Referring to palmolein oil, considered a poor man8217;s substitute to groundnut oil, he said the prices had gone up in the past one year following the fall in the value of the rupee against the dollar. The price difference between the two oils had come down to Rs 6 from Rs 16 a kg, he said, reminding the government of its responsibility to the poor and provide groundnut oil through public distribution system.