12 May,2026 11:45 AM IST | Nashik | mid-day online correspondent
The Maharashtra State Onion Growers` Association accused the market committee of becoming `defunct`. Representational Pic
Amid a sharp crash in onion prices, a farmers' association on Tuesday demanded the immediate dissolution of the Nandgaon Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) in Maharashtra's Nashik district, alleging that the body had failed to conduct auctions of the key kitchen staple and safeguard cultivators' interests, PTI reported.
On Monday, farmers dumped a tractor-load of onions outside the Nandgaon APMC premises while raising slogans against the administration and traders.
According to PTI, they alleged that wholesale onion prices had crashed across several market yards in Nashik district, leaving cultivators unable to recover even their input and transportation costs.
According to traders and farmer groups, average-quality onions were currently fetching between Rs 800 and Rs 1,000 per quintal in many APMCs, while smaller varieties were being sold at rates as low as Rs 1 to Rs 4 per kg.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Maharashtra State Onion Growers' Association accused the market committee of becoming "defunct" and alleged that its leadership had abandoned responsibility at a time when farmers were facing severe hardship.
"The Nandgaon Market Committee currently exists only on paper. There is absolutely no administrative control over operations, and the chairman is nowhere to be found. It is a state of total anarchy, where the authorities have turned a blind eye to the farmers' plight," the association claimed, PTI reported.
The association further alleged that the market committee's inability to facilitate auctions of agricultural produce showed that its board had failed in its primary responsibility.
"If the committee is incapable of performing its primary duty of auctioning farmers' produce, the entire board of directors must be disqualified and the body dismissed. We urge the government to appoint an administrator and immediately suspend the negligent officers and staff members," the association said, the news agency reported.
The demand comes amid growing resentment among onion growers in the region, who claim that disruptions in auction operations have caused heavy financial losses and worsened agrarian distress.
The association also warned of intensified protests if immediate steps were not taken to restore the normal functioning of the market committee.
(With PTI inputs)
