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In a sweet sign of support for the farmers protesting in Delhi against the Centre’s farm laws, Kerala’s pineapple farmers have despatched a truckload of the fruit for them.
The load from Kerala’s pineapple hub, Vazhakkulam, located east of Ernakulam contains over 16 tonnes of the fruit, all picked from the same garden, James George, president of the Pineapple Farmers’ Association, said.
The truck is slated to reach Delhi by Tuesday where parliamentarians K.K. Ragesh and Dean Kuriakose along with Harbhajan Singh of the Delhi gurudwara will be coordinating its distribution among the protesters. In Kerala, the Ernakulam gurudwara coordinated the effort.
The special gift is also a thanksgiving from the people of Kerala as the gurudwara had supported flood relief efforts in 2018, deploying medical teams to provide emergency help in different parts of the State.
“The whole effort of sending the pineapples is of the farmers and we just helped them,” said Bunty Singh, member of the Ernakulam Gurudwara. The price of the fruits and the cost of transportation have been borne by the farmers’ association.
Kerala’s Agriculture Minister V.S. Sunil Kumar flagged off the truck. He said the farmers’ agitation is the largest of its kind in Indian history and it should not fail.
“If it fails, the food security and the supreme power of the people of the country will also fail,” he said. “The retail sector in the country is already under the control of big corporates and if we let the farming sector also fall under them, consumer States like Kerala will have to bear the brunt. Therefore, all those who eat should stand along with the farmers on strike,” he said.
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