Written by Pathi Venkata Thadhagath
A woman in Karnataka’s Halebeedu alleged that tomatoes worth Rs, 2.5 lakh were stolen from her farm on Tuesday night and she filed a case at police station. She said that almost 60 kilograms of tomatoes which were in the bags at the farm were stolen by unknown people.
Also Read – Why only tomatoes? Prices of other vegetables are soaring in other states
Speaking with the reporters on Thursday, Dharani, who is a tomato farmer, said, “As there is a good price for Tomatoes in the market, we planned to transport our harvest to Bengaluru and put the crop in the bad. We incurred huge losses in bean harvest and had taken loans to grow tomatoes. We had a good harvest and, incidentally, prices were also high, besides taking the 50-60 bags of tomatoes, the thieves also destroyed the remaining standing crop.”
A police officer at Halebeedu police station told news agency ANI that it is the first case of tomato theft filed at his police station. “A complaint has been filed at Halebeedu police station. It is the first such case filed of tomato loot at our police station,” the news agency quoted a police officer as saying. Dharani’s son has also reportedly requested the state government for compensation.
Tomato prices in Bengaluru range from ₹100 to 120 per kilogram. The high prices have been attributed to the sudden temperature increase in March and April that resulted in pest attacks on tomato crops, leading to decreased yields and higher market rates.
