Farmer gets Rs 1,064 for 750 kg of onions, sends money to Modi

A Maharashtra farmer has sent the Rs 1,064 he got after selling his year's produce of 750 kgs of onion to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

The farmer added that he had to pay an additional Rs 54 for the money order he sent Modi. 

Sanjay Sathe is a resident of Niphad tehsil in Maharashtra's Nashik district. 

Speaking to PTI, Sathe said, “I produced 750 kg of onion in this season but was offered a rate of Rs 1 per kg at Niphad wholesale market last week.

“Finally I could negotiate a deal for Rs 1.40 per kg and received Rs 1,064 for 750 kg," he added. 

“It was painful to see such paltry returns on four months of toil. Hence I have donated Rs 1,064 to Disaster Relief Fund of the PMO as a protest. I had to pay additional Rs 54 for sending it by money order,” Sathe said.

“I do not represent any political party. But I am angry because of the government’s apathy towards our woes,” Sathe added.

Nashik district in north Maharashtra accounts for 50 per cent of onion production in India.

PTI added that Sathe had been among the handful of "progressive farmers" selected by the union agriculture ministry to meet with then US president Barack Obama when he visited India in 2010. 

(With inputs from PTI)