Betel leaf farmers in Lucknow incurring losses due to lockdown

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], May 2 (ANI): Betel leaf farmers, here are incurring losses as they are unable to sell their products during the nationwide lockdown in wake of COVID-19.
"Betel leaves are decaying in the field as their demand has stopped and they can not be stored. It is a perishable commodity and we can not restore it. I am losing a source of income. I have suffered a loss of Rs 40,000," Ashish Chaurasia, a farmer in the Nigoha area of Mohanlalganj told ANI.
Requesting the government to help betel leaf farmers, Chaurasia said: "Nobody is paying attention to our problems. We have not received any information when the Mandis will open. I request the government to allow us to sell betel leaves. The way vegetable and fruit mandis are opening up following social distancing, we should also be given concession. We will also maintain social distancing and follow other measures in the Mandi."
Betel leaves businessman Dharmendra Chaurasia fears that if lockdown continuous, betel cultivation will disappear.
"After the announcement of the third lockdown, I went to Mandi in Lucknow but it was closed. If this continues, the coronavirus may or may not disappear, but our betel cultivation will disappear," he said.
On March 24, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced a 21-day lockdown as a precautionary measure to contain the spread of COVID-19. The lockdown was later extended till May 3.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Friday issued an order to extend the ongoing lockdown by two more weeks from May 4 with some relaxations. (ANI)