PUNE: The residents of Baramati were in a shock on Wednesday morning when they saw a farmer and his two school-going children distributing onions at a Chowk near Baramati Municipal Council for free.
A native of Jainakwadi in Baramati taluka, Dinesh Kale and his children Prasad and Shreyas were forced to give away the onions for free as he could not recover even one-third of the amount spent on the cultivation. Kale said he could have earned Rs 12,000 after spending Rs 45,000 for growing onions on his 1.5 acres of land. He said that he could not earn more than Rs 2 per kilo. Kale said he had even spent money to water the crop. He said, “I could see a ray of hope when the prices went up, but my hopes were short-lived as the market collapsed. I am unable to spend money on stationery items for my children owing to my poor financial condition now.”
Distressed by this, on Wednesday, Kale printed a flex announcing that he will distribute onions for free and had kept a donation box for those who wanted to donate money.
Both his sons were along side to help him distribute onions for free. Kale claimed he would send the collected amount to the government to pay for the foreign visits of ministers. He said if the State Government does not intervene to control falling prices, farmers growing cash crops like onions would have no option but to commit suicide.
