Bypoll-bound Thrikkakara assembly constituency in Kerala witnessed a unique protest on Tuesday as pineapple farmers from the nearby Vazhakulam distributed their produce for free.
As many as 10,001 pineapples were distributed free at Palarivattom as a mark of protest against price fall and alleged governmental apathy.
The farmers, who have incurred huge losses, staged the protest saying they were sharing the value of their toil to the people happily.
The farmers decided to stage the protest in Thrikkakara constituency to grab the attention of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his cabinet colleagues, who have been camping there as part of the Left Democratic Front's election campaign.
Congress MLA Mathew Kuzhalnadan, who represents the Muvattupuzha constituency, inaugurated the protest and said he will back the farmers until they get justice.
The organisers of the protest said they had to spend around Rs 25 to produce one kg of the fruit, but they have been forced to sell it at Rs 5 to Rs 10.
They said even though the government has announced a support price of Rs 17 per kg for pineapple, no government agencies including the Horticorp have shown initiative to procure the fruit.
Leader of the Opposition V D Satheesan visited the protesters and promised to make necessary interventions to find a solution to the issue.
Ernakulam MP Hibi Eden and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor also visited the protest venue. Tharoor said he will raise the plight of the pineapple farmers in Parliament in the next session.
Vazhakulam near Thodupuzha in Idukki district is known as the Pineapple City of Kerala. It earned fame for the high-quality pineapple produced there.
However, tonnes of the yield have been rotting on a daily basis of late. The erratic rainfall has added to the misery of the farmers, who have already been hit badly by the steep fall in price. The farmers have been forced to bury the rotten fruits in their plantations.
Pineapple is cultivated in around 18,000 hectares in the state. Over 5,000 farmers are engaged in Pineapple cultivation. Kerala has been producing 6 lakh tonnes of the fruit annually raking in an average of Rs 1,500 crore for the past 8-10 years, according to the farmers.
