Now Reading: Farmers oppose plan to shift Coimbatore tomato market
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Farmers oppose plan to shift Coimbatore tomato market
Farmers and tomato traders have opposed the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation's proposal to shift the tomato market from Sanganoor and merge it with the MGR wholesale vegetable market near Saibaba Colony. They have raised concerns over space and infrastructure constraints at the MGR market, which they say is already struggling to handle its current volume of business.
The Sanganoor tomato market handles around 100 tonnes of tomatoes daily, with nearly 10 mundies involved. The produce is supplied to parts of Coimbatore, neighbouring districts and Kerala. Farmers' representative VS Kalisamy submitted a representation to CCMC Commissioner Katta Ravi Teja, warning that a sudden shift could affect farmers, traders and consumers and disrupt essential vegetable distribution.
Farmers and traders have sought a meeting with the Coimbatore district Collector involving officials from the corporation, Agriculture, Horticulture, Agricultural Marketing, Revenue and Police departments. They want the corporation to reconsider the relocation and conduct a detailed consultation before proceeding.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The Sanganoor market is an informal but critical node in the regional tomato supply chain, handling roughly a third of Coimbatore's daily vegetable throughput. The MGR market is already congested at 3.5 acres with over 100 traders and 80 trucks daily, raising genuine questions about how an extra 100 tonnes would be absorbed. The demand for a multi-department meeting reflects a trust deficit between farmers and the civic body. The next step to watch is whether the collector convenes the meeting before the corporation finalises its relocation plan.
Source: newindianexpress.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Methodology and corrections.
