Maharashtra farmer who destroyed cauliflower crop over low pay meets Uddhav Thackeray

Mumbai: The Maharashtra farmer, whose disturbing video of destroying cauliflower crop on his land after he got a paltry amount for the produce went viral on social media, met Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday. Premsingh Chavan, a resident of Pohegaon village in Jalna district, met Thackeray at the latter’s residence `Matoshree’ in suburban Bandra. [caption id=“attachment_4316101” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray. PTI[/caption] Thackeray handed him a cheque of Rs 1 lakh on behalf of a private organisation, a Sena leader said. “I destroyed the crop in a fit of rage after getting peanuts for my produce. My friend filmed the act with his mobile,” Chavan had said after the video went viral. Chavan said he got just Rs 442 in his hand, after deducting transport and other charges, after he sold his cauliflower crop. “I was so angry that had there been a pesticide available on my farm that day, I would have consumed it and ended my life,” a distraught Chavan had said. “I grew cauliflower and tomatoes on my land, spending around Rs 40,000 but got only Rs 4,000 for the two crops,” he had said. After the video once again highlighted the prevailing farm distress, the agriculturist had sought government help. “The BJP-led government should take note of our plight and ensure remunerative prices for agro produce,” Chavan had said. The incident came a week after the much-televised kisan ’long march’, where thousands of farmers and tribals from Nashik reached Mumbai, walking 180 kilometres in six days. The sea of red flags on Mumbai’s roads, which culminated in a public meeting in south Mumbai last week, garnered eyeballs. Images of the blistered, bleeding feet of women who braved the blazing sun with broken footwear made an impact on newspaper readers and TV viewers.