Lift Totapuri mango ban: Siddaramaiah writes to Andhra CM
Bengaluru: The order issued by the Chittoor district administration in Andhra Pradesh banning the purchase of Karnataka's Totapuri Mango has put farmers in Kolar and Chikkaballapur in distress. Following this, the Karnataka government's Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh, who intervened, has written a letter to the Andhra Pradesh government, requesting it to lift the ban.
Now CM Siddaramaiah himself has come to the rescue of Karnataka's farmers. The Chittoor district administration has written a letter to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu asking him to instruct the district administration to lift the ban imposed on the purchase of Karnataka's Totapuri mango. It is learnt that the Chittoor District Magistrate had issued an order on June 07 prohibiting the entry of Totapuri mangoes from other states into the district. This sudden and unilateral move has caused great distress to the mango growers of Karnataka, especially those who grow Totapuri mangoes in significant quantities in the border areas.
These farmers have long been linked to Chittoor-based processing units to sell their produce. The current restriction has disrupted this well-established supply chain and caused significant post-harvest losses, which will directly impact the livelihood of thousands of farmers, Siddaramaiah mentioned in his letter to the Andhra CM.
Such measures taken without prior consultation or coordination are against the spirit of the cooperative federal system. I am concerned that this may lead to tension and retaliatory measures. The stakeholders are already expressing their displeasure, which may disrupt the inter-state movement of vegetables and other agricultural commodities, Siddaramaiah mentioned.
'I urge you (Chandrababu Naidu) to intervene in this matter and request you to issue necessary directions to the district authorities to immediately revoke the order of the Chittoor district administration,' Siddaramaiah wrote in the letter.
Siddaramaiah urged that this issue should be taken seriously and prompt steps should be taken to restore smooth movement of agricultural produce in the interest of farmers' welfare.
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