With high demand for lemons amid rising temperatures, the price of the citrus fruit is skyrocketing across the country. The lemon price hike is majorly due to a shortage in supply and high demand during the ongoing summer season.
The price of lemons have gone up to Rs 250 to Rs 300 per kg. Lemon prices have risen so much that thefts are taking place. A similar incident has taken place in Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh. 15,000 lemons have been stolen from a garden in Bithoor. Lemon is grown on the banks of the Ganges at Bithoor. Theft has been on the rise since the rise in lemon prices. So now the farmers have deployed guards to protect the lemons. The task of guarding the lemon orchard has been entrusted to 50 persons. These guards are paid 450 rupees. Therefore, the daily expenditure on the guards goes to the house of Rs. 22,500.
Earlier, there were incidents of theft of lemons in Shahjahanpur and Bareilly. Last Sunday night, 50 kg of lemons were stolen from Delapir market in Bareilly. Thieves stole 60 kg of lemons from Bajaria vegetable market in Shahjahanpur. The thieves also stole 40 kg of onions and 38 kg of garlic. Abhishek Nishad lodged an FIR against the theft of lemons at Bithoor police station on Wednesday. Abhishek reported that about 15,000 lemons were stolen from 1 acre in last 3 days. Police launched an investigation. Abhishek is staying in the garden. He will remain in the garden until the lemons are fully grown.