On The Retail Trail UP farmers back corporates as Mayawati halts Reliance Retail's bandwagon.

AUGUST 30, 2007

Lucknow

It's been exactly one week since Uttar Pradesh Chief MinisterMayawati ordered the closure of organised retail outlets in thestate. BT's destination for the day is the state capital Lucknow--the city of nawabs and kebabs. Dotted with countless hoardings ofMayawati, the city is the centre of another controversy--the rollbackof state agricultural policy that allowed contract farming and theentry of private sector players in agri-business. The majorstakeholders impacted by the hullabaloo are the farmers and the bigorganised retail players.

It's 7.30 a.m. as we come out of the Amausi Airport. As the localnewspapers report overwhelming …