MVA, farmers block Mumbai-Agra highway over onion crisis

Nashik: Functionaries of Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), along with onion farmers, on Tuesday blocked the Mumbai-Agra National Highway at Chandwad for nearly two hours, protesting the fall in wholesale onion prices and demanding immediate relief measures from the Centre and the state govt.

The rasta roko agitation, led by NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar, party state president Shashikant Shinde, state Congress chief Harshvardhan Sapkal and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Ambadas Danve, disrupted traffic on both sides of the busy corridor, leading to long queues of vehicles.

Farmers demanded that the Centre procure onions through its agencies — NAFED and NCCF — at Rs 2,400 per quintal, along with financial assistance of Rs 1,500 per quintal for those who sold their produce at lower rates over the past three to four months.

The protest began with a march from the Chandwad APMC, with thousands of farmers and MVA workers proceeding towards the highway, located around 500 metres away. Rohit Pawar, Sapkal and Danve led the march atop a bullock cart.

Upon reaching the highway, protesters launched the blockade, which continued for nearly two hours. Farmers also dumped onions on the road to highlight their distress, leading to a traffic jam stretching nearly 1 to 1.5 kilometres on both sides.

Tension briefly escalated when some agitators attempted to deflate the tyres of stranded vehicles. Police intervened promptly, preventing any damage and bringing the situation under control. Although tyre deflation was part of the planned agitation, MVA leaders had instructed protesters not to target ambulances, public transport or civilians.

As the protest turned increasingly aggressive, police detained Rohit Pawar, Sapkal, Shinde and Danve, and took them to the Chandwad police station. They were released after about half an hour.

The police administration had deployed more than 300 personnel, including units from the Riot Control squad, to maintain law and order.

Deputy SP Bajirao Mahajan said, “Over 50 protesters were detained under the Bombay Police Act and later released. The blockade disrupted traffic for about 90 minutes. While heavy vehicles remained stuck, smaller vehicles took alternative routes to bypass the protest site.”

Farmers said the cost of onion production is around Rs 1,800–2,000 per quintal, while they are currently getting only Rs 500 to Rs 900 per quintal, resulting in heavy losses.

They demanded a minimum support price of Rs 3,000 per quintal and a compensation of Rs 1,500 per quintal for produce sold at lower rates in recent months. Farmers also criticised the Centre’s current procurement rate of Rs 1,580 per quintal, calling it inadequate, and demanded that procurement be increased to at least 10–20 lakh tonnes.