Mumbai:
If there were more farmers like him, we would never have faced the onion crisis.
Santosh Petade, a young farmer from Nashik, cultivates and sells onions in the city at an incredible price of Rs 12 a kg. He says he is able to do this because he doesn't let middlemen get involved.
Petade, who hails from Lasan Gaon near Nashik, brought his goods to the city, and instead of selling them to traders, picked a spot on the bypass at Virar.
A photographer spotted him as he proceeded to pile sacks of onions on the roadside, and set up a makeshift shop. And since the onions are medium-sized and fresh, passersby can't help but stop and marvel at the incredulously low prices, and end up buying them in bulk.
Petade claimed to speak for all farmers when he said, "We sell onions at low prices, but it is the traders who hike the prices so much. I make as much profit selling them at Rs 12 a kg, as I do by selling it to the traders."