Farmers protest urea shortage and black marketing in Udaipur

Udaipur: Troubled by an acute shortage of urea fertiliser, farmers held a satirical protest under the banner of Mewad Kisan Sangharsh Samiti, outside the agriculture department office in Udaipur Monday. As part of the demonstration, farmers garlanded donkeys, fed them gulab jamun and symbolically mourned a fertiliser bag placed on a chair, offering flowers as if at a bereavement.Mewad Kisan Sangharsh Samiti officials said black marketing of urea is happening during peak demand, claiming that bags priced at the government-fixed rate of Rs 277 were being sold for Rs 450–500 with the alleged patronage of some officials. They said commissions were being paid to officials, forcing farmers to ‘shed tears of blood'.Questioning why shortages recur every rabi and kharif season despite the govt having data on landholding and crop patterns, the farmers demanded a fertiliser distribution system on the lines of ration distribution. They also sought mandatory POS slips for every purchase and fertiliser allocation strictly based on landholding.After the protest, a memorandum was submitted to the joint director of the agriculture department. The committee warned of an agitation if the issue is not resolved soon. For several days, farmers in Udaipur have faced long queues, with only about 50% of the required fertiliser available, affecting over 3-4 lakh farmers in the district.