Siddaramaiah urges Chandrababu Naidu to lift ban on Karnataka's totapuri mangoes in Chittoor, hints retaliatory action
Siddaramaiah
has written to his Andhra Pradesh counterpart N
Chandrababu Naidu
urging him to lift the ban on the entry of totapuri mangoes from the neighbouring states into Chittoor district.
The adjoining Kolar district in Karnataka is a large grower of totapuri variety of mangoes, and large quantities food processing units in Chittoor district buy large quantities of them.
With Chittoor district reporting a bumper totapuri production leading to a price crash and leaving growers in distress, the AP government has imposed curbs on imports of totapuri from other states into the district. The AP government has also deployed officials at inter-state check-posts to prevent entry of totapuri into the state.
'This abrupt and unilateral move has caused considerable hardship to mango growers in Karnataka, particularly those in the border regions who cultivate totapuri mangoes in substantial quantities. These farmers have long relied on the robust linkages with Chittoor-based processing and pulp extraction units for marketing their produce. The current restriction has disrupted this well-established supply chain and threatens significant post-harvest losses, directly impacting the livelihoods of thousands of farmers,' Siddaramaiah said in his letter.
Actions of this type taken without prior consultation run contrary to the spirit of cooperative federalism. 'I am also concerned that this may lead to avoidable tension and retaliatory measures, with stakeholders already expressing discontent that could potentially disrupt the inter-state movement of vegetables and other agricultural commodities,' the CM said.
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The Chittoor administration has introduced a token-based purchase of only local mangoes by the food processing units. The administration has also asked the units to buy in a phased manner to prevent distress sales and ensure growers get a fair price.
The Congress regime in Karnataka has come under pressure from mango growers in Kolar to declare a support price for their produce with Chittoor shutting its doors for the produce.
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