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Wednesday,12-August-2026
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Maharashtra

Maha onion, cotton, soybean farmers in doldrums, MVA protests outside Assembly

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 The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance of Congress-Nationalist Congress Party-Shiv Sena (UBT) protested outside the Assembly here on Tuesday on the plight of the farmers demanding a fair price for the farm produce, especially onion, cotton and soybean cultivators.

Many of the opposition leaders and MLAs came sporting garlands of ‘onion’ mock ‘selling’ basket-loads of the vegetable to draw the state government’s attention to their situation in view of the sudden drop in procurement prices.

Inside the Assembly, NCP’s Leader of Opposition Ajit Pawar raised the issue and said the farmer is in dire straits and the house must drop everything else to discuss their woes.

“We have already informed the government how a cheque of Rs 2 was given to an onion producer in Barshi (Solapur) for his stock, which is a mockery. The government should immediately intervene and direct organisations like the NAFED to purchase the agro-produce plus coordinate with the Centre to resolve the issue,” Pawar urged.

He emphasised that the farmers must be given the right prices for their produce since Maharashtra is India’s largest onion growing state with 33 per cent share, and the state leads in exports owing to the good quality of the vegetable produced here.

“However, presently, the price is barely Rs 500-600/quintal that has disappointed the farmers and led to widespread protests like roadblocks, dharnas, marches, etc. Besides, even those cultivating cotton, soybeans, gram, grapes are also suffering huge financial losses as they are unable to recover even the production costs,” said Pawar.

He called for restarting the Onion Export Promotion Scheme and procuring onions through NAFED and Marketing Federations in the state

Outside the Assembly, several opposition MLAs raised slogans, displayed placards and banners in support of the onion farmers, and condemned the indiscriminate caning of the peasants protesting peacefully in Buldhana.

They pointed out how a farmers leader Ravikant Tupkar has threatened to self-immolate himself if the demands of the agriculturists are not met, while Pawar moved an adjournment motion inside the House demanding a probe against the caning incident.

The opposition MLAs like Amol Mitkari, Bhaskar Jadhav, Chhagan Bhujbal, Yashomati Thakur and others pointed out that farmers have been agitating for compensation for crop losses in heavy rains, crop insurance, etc, but nothing has been given so far.

Half the farmers in the state cultivate soybean, which is around 40 per cent of the total national production, and the average cost is around Rs 5,783/quintal, but they are getting barely Rs 5,000/quintal.

Similarly, the production costs for cotton is around Rs 8,180/quintal, but the current market rate is around Rs 8,000/quintal and keeps fluctuating, demanding a fair price for their produce.

Maharashtra

Robbery in Mumbai Saki Naka, 4 arrested, stolen goods recovered

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Mumbai: The Sakinaka police have claimed to have solved the mystery of the robbery at the junk shop of the complainant, Mohammed Hussain Abdul Karim, and arrested the accused. 22 kg of silver and cash worth a total of Rs 44 lakh were stolen from the junk shop. The shop was located in Anise Compound. The police had registered a complaint regarding this. On this basis, the Mumbai Police’s detection team tracked down the thieves and arrested four accused and claimed to have seized silver worth Rs 44 lakh and a mobile phone. The accused have been identified as Maqsood Shah, 20, a resident of Sakinaka in Mumbai, Uttar Pradesh, Zeeshan Abdul Subhan, 20, a resident of Mumbra, Daighar, Akhbar Hussain Ghulam Murtaza, 27, Mumbra, and Irfan Noorullah Khan, 26, Siddharth Nagar, UP. The four accused have been arrested and the stolen goods have been recovered. This operation was carried out by DCP Dutta Nalawade on the instructions of Mumbai Police Commissioner Deven Bharti.

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Maharashtra

37 unauthorized shops removed from footpaths in Vakola area, action taken by BMC ‘H East’ ward under ‘Pedestrian First’ campaign

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Mumbai: The Mumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is implementing the ‘Pedestrian First’ campaign to ensure that pedestrians can walk on the footpaths with ease. As part of this initiative, action was taken to remove 37 unauthorised shops obstructing the footpaths along Rajendra Kamble Marg in Vakola area yesterday (August 11, 2026). The operation was carried out by the ‘H East’ ward of BMC. As per the directions of the High Court and under the guidance of Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide. BMC is effectively implementing the ‘Pedestrian First’ campaign to clear the footpaths of unauthorised hawkers and encroachments, thus making them free from obstructions. In this backdrop, the footpaths along Rajendra Kamble Marg in Vakola were cleared during an operation led by Assistant Commissioner (H East Ward) Smt. Mr. Mridula Ande, Deputy Commissioner (Zone-3) under the guidance of Shri Vishwas Mote. During this drive, 37 unauthorized shops erected on footpaths were removed, and materials obstructing the walkways were seized.

The operation was carried out with the support of about 31 officers and staff members using 4 vehicles, 2 dumpers, 1 JCB and other machinery. Adequate police security was deployed during the drive.
Meanwhile, the Municipal Corporation continues to implement measures to ensure the availability of accessible footpaths for pedestrians. Therefore, unauthorized constructions or placement of materials obstructing footpaths are prohibited. The Municipal Corporation administration has said that strict action will be taken if such incidents are found.

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Maharashtra

Mumbai: Maharashtra ATS takes action against MD vendors, MD worth Rs 9 crore seized, factory exposed, two foreign women and one person arrested

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Mumbai: Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has claimed to have seized MD worth Rs 9.4 crore during an operation in Bandra, Mumbai. A suspect was found in front of a tipper at Amber Hotel Bandra. When he was searched, 2050 grams of MD Mephedone was recovered from his possession, after which the Kala Chowki ATS has registered a case and started investigating him. The ATS has also arrested two foreign women suspected of this. During the progress of this operation, 2688 grams of Mephedone was seized from Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, and two women were also arrested in this case. In this case, with the help of UP Police, the factory from which MD was purchased was also cracked down on and MD worth Rs 5 crore was seized. The police is taking further action in this case.

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