Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar visited the Yeshwantpur Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) yard in Bengaluru on Tuesday and spoke with onion growers, traders and women workers about problems affecting the market, including rising transport costs and alleged irregularities in weighing produce.
The surprise visit brought the functioning of one of Bengaluru’s key agricultural trading hubs into focus as onion prices have been increasing and farmers have raised concerns about the effect of transportation expenses on their earnings. Shivakumar went around the market and asked growers and traders about the difficulties they face in the onion trade.
Farmers told the Chief Minister that the cost of transporting onions was cutting into their returns. They also raised concerns about whether produce was being weighed accurately, asking for attention to possible irregularities in the process. The report did not provide details of specific complaints, transactions or instances in which weighing practices had been found to be improper.
The interaction also reflected concerns about access to government officials. Farmers complained that the Agriculture Minister had not visited the market to hear their grievances directly. Shivakumar listened to the complaints and assured them that steps would be taken to address the issues raised during the visit.
The Yeshwantpur APMC is a major point of interaction between agricultural producers, traders and workers supplying and handling farm produce for Bengaluru. Costs incurred before produce reaches consumers can affect the amount earned by growers as well as the prices recorded through the trading chain. In the concerns raised during the visit, farmers linked transport expenses directly to their earnings from onion sales.
Shivakumar also met women workers at the market and heard about the difficulties they face. The report did not specify the nature of those difficulties or announce any separate measure for the workers following the interaction.
The visit comes amid farmer concerns over onion prices and the wider conditions governing the movement and sale of the crop. For the market administration, the issues raised involve the handling and weighing of produce, the cost of transporting it and the responsiveness of agricultural authorities to complaints from growers and workers.
Farmers welcomed the Chief Minister’s visit and said they hoped their grievances would receive attention. No specific order, financial relief, inspection outcome or implementation deadline was announced in the report. The next steps will depend on how the state authorities respond to the concerns recorded during the market visit.
