As the price of tomatoes is soaring, it has become a commodity worth stealing. A farmer from Belur taluk of Hassan district was in tears on Wednesday as he lost tomatoes worth over ₹2.7 lakh to thieves who made away with it from his field on Tuesday night.
“I was in the field till 10 p.m. and left for home. When I returned at 5 a.m. on Wednesday, I found they had been harvested in the night,” said G.S. Dharani, 24, of Goni Somanahalli. He noticed empty gutka sachets strewn all over the place and marks showing the movement of vehicles on his farm, suggesting the handiwork of a group.
Dharani’s family owns six acres of land. He and his father, Somashekhar, cultivated tomatoes on two acres located at Thattehalli village. So far, they have harvested twice and earned about ₹3.5 lakh. Tomatoes are normally harvested twice a week, and fruiting continues for up to two months. “I was about to harvest for the third time and was hoping to get better returns,” he said.
On earlier occasions, he sold tomatoes at ₹1,400 to ₹1,900 per box, weighing around 25 to 28 kg. “At present, the rate is above ₹3,000 per box. The middlemen who purchase at the farmer’s place offer not less than ₹2,500 per box. I was sure of harvesting at least 90 boxes and earning about ₹2.7 lakh,” said Dharani.
“We have grown tomatoes seven-eight times in the past. I never saw this price. On three or four occasions, I did not harvest at all as the price was abysmally low, not worth carrying it to the market. This time I had spent around ₹ 3 lakh to grow the crop,” he said. He has filed a complaint with Halebidu Police. He suspects it to be the work of someone well aware of his farm field. The police conducted the mahajar on the spot and registered the complaint.
Published - July 05, 2023 05:18 pm IST
