Tensions gripped the Achampet agricultural market in Nagarkurnool district as a large-scale protest by frustrated groundnut farmers escalated into an attack on the market yard office. Angered by plummeting prices and suspected trader collusion, the demonstrating agriculturalists barged into the administrative building, vandalized office furniture, and assaulted staff members, including a physical altercation with the market committee chairperson’s husband.
The unrest erupted after traders abruptly slashed groundnut procurement prices from around ₹7,000 per quintal down to a meager ₹4,000 to ₹4,500 per quintal within a matter of days, citing poor crop quality. Farmers vehemently rejected this justification, accusing the traders of forming a fraudulent syndicate to artificially deflate prices and maximize profits at the expense of vulnerable growers. Compounding their fury were widespread allegations of faulty weigh-bridges, with farmers pointing out that their yields were not being weighed accurately—a grievance they had repeatedly brought to the attention of market officials with zero administrative follow-through.