Expensive tomatoes being stolen by gangs of thieves

New Delhi - Only a month ago Indore farmers were dumping tomatoes on the roadside due to over production.

The Portuguese introduced the tomato in India. That was nearly 400 years ago. But never has the tomato been guarded by a gun. These days in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, no tomato is safe. In vegetable markets, heaps and truckloads of tomatoes are guarded by tall private security guards with taller guns.
The reason the tomatoes are accompanied by guards is that the prices have rocketed and traders believe there are gangs about who are planning to steal them and sell them in black market. As a matter of fact, it has already happened once.
On July 20, 300kg of tomatoes in 30 crates were stolen by thieves from a vegetable market in Dahisar, a far flung western suburb of Mumbai, reports the Indian Express. The stolen tomatoes, around 300kg, were worth Rs70,000. Though the police have registered a case against "unknown persons," since they are accustomed these days to CCTV cameras for identification of criminals, the police have not been able to make much headway: in general the vegetable markets across India do not have CCTV surveillance systems, unlike the malls.
The price of tomato has touched Rs100 per kg in retail markets in various parts of the country. Indore is one of them. Only a month ago Indore farmers were dumping tomatoes on the roadside due to over production. At that point the price for a kilo was Rs1. 
Then for reasons not clear, but possibly due to hoarding by trading cartels, tomatoes vanished, and their prices shot up.
In Indore's Devi Ahilya Bai Holker Vegetable Mandi (market), the authorities gave in to the demands of the traders and hired private security guards to protect the tomatoes. Mandi inspector Ramesh Sawadiya was quoted as saying: "The traders are  scared. They gave us a letter demanding security arrangements for tomatoes. We had to comply."
Pictures doing the rounds show armed guards standing by heaps of tomatoes with the same watchful expression as they would be if they were guarding any dignitary. As of today, the tomato is the most expensive vegetable in Indore.
They are the most vulnerable for theft or bodily harm when they are being unloaded from trucks. This is when thieves normally strike, the traders feel. Naturally, there are more guards around the trucks. The Mandi management is not clear why suddenly the tomato has become a scarce commodity. They blame the weather in a half-hearted explanation. But it is equally a safe bet that the colonial vegetable is rotting in some remote godowns as well. The prices are expected to remain in the North till "improved production" hits the retail markets. Till such time then your tomato in India is likely to come with a gun attached to it.
 
 
 
 

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