An onion grower, who aired her problems during lockdown on social media, has caught the attention of Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa. He spoke to her over phone on Tuesday and assured that he would help market her produce.
G.R. Vasantha of Katanayakanahalli had grown 140 onion sacks weighing 50 kg each. She and her husband Pratap have 12 acres of land and have grown onions in four acres. They have also grown coconut and vegetables in the remaining land in the village in Hiriyur taluk of Chitradurga district.
‘Save us from loss’
Due to the lockdown, the farmer couple were unable to sell the onions. On Monday, Ms. Vasantha uploaded a video on Facebook appealing to the Chief Minister to buy onions from them at a good price as the rates had fallen and save them from losses.
After the video went viral on Facebook and WhatsApp groups, Mr. Yediyurappa spoke to Ms. Vasantha on Tuesday morning and promised her help. As per the direction of the Deputy Commissioner of Chitradurga district, assistant director of agriculture Thotaiah T. along with Revenue Department officers visited the village.
Mr. Thotaiah told The Hindu: “Onions will be bought in the next two or three days and the price will be decided based on the quality and size of the produce.” Ms. Vasantha said: “We took a loan of ₹60,000 to grow 140 bags of onions out of which 20 bags have got spoilt already.”
