HimVani
Shimla: The one-day strike by commission agents at Azadpur market in Delhi on Thursday created panic among fruit and vegetable growers in Himachal Pradesh as truck remained unloaded at Delhi. While perishable items suffered damage, apple growers too buckled under pressure and were willing to pay commission to the wholesale dealers to sell the fruit.
While the Himachal Pradesh government is preparing to file an affidavit for contempt of court against the Delhi government for failing to stop commission being charged from farmers, the commission agents along with wholesale suppliers decided to go on a one-day strike to thwart any such attempts by the state.
Sources said prices of apple, which was in the range of Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,200 per box on Wednesday, crashed to around Rs 600 to Rs 800 today, because of glut in the market as a large number of trucks kept reaching Azadpur Mandi, without any sale taking place. Apple growers further complained that the commission agents were not only taking six per cent commission from, but have also started charging an extra two per cent commission as handling charges.
