Lockdown: Farmer dream of selling watermelon of lakhs, forced to sell at Rs 1 in Maharashtra

The farmers of Maharashtra's Hingoli district who were dreamt of selling watermelon of lakhs are forced to sell the fruit at the rate of Rs 1 per piece due to nationwide lockdown.

Hingoli (Maharashtra): The nationwide lockdown has crumbled almost every section of the society. From farmer to billionaire, no one remains untouched with the impact of the lockdown.

The watermelon farmer of Hingoli district has also suffered as the lockdown has broken the chain of the transportation of the crops to the consumer. According to a native farmer from Hingoli, the agricultural process of watermelon demands Rs 10-12 each. The farmer has spent Rs 70,000 to 80,000 in the farming of the juicy fruit. But, unfortunately, the farmer who has dreamt of selling the fruit of Rs 1,00,000 is forced to sale the watermelon for Rs 1 per piece.

While talking to ETV Bharat, a native farmer Shantaram More, "I have to sell 1,200 watermelons to the traders for a rupee each, hoping- something is better than nothing. Also, I have distributed smaller watermelons free to the villagers."

The watermelon farmer expected to earn around a lakh of rupees from the sale of watermelons. However, the lockdown crushed all his dreams.

With the decline in the income, the farmer seems stressed for sowing Kharif crop this year. He expressed his grief to 'ETV Bharat' that it would be time for him to seek help from relatives to complete the Kharif sowing this year. He further added that the government should look into this and offer compensation.