Centre, Karnataka to jointly compensate mango farmers in state for losses due to fall in prices
New Delhi, Jun 21 (PTI): The Central and Karnataka government have decided to jointly compensate mango farmers of the state, for a total quantity up to 2.5 lakh tonnes, in view of decline in prices of this fruit in the open market.
The compensation will be provided for a quantity up to 2.5 lakh tonnes of mangoes, which is 25 per cent of the total production in Karnataka.
According to an official statement on Saturday, the decision was taken during a video conference between Chouhan and Karnataka Agriculture Minister N Chaluvaraya Swamy.
Chouhan has provided significant relief to mango farmers in Karnataka who have been troubled by steadily falling prices, it added.
"To address the drop in mango prices, the central and state governments will jointly bear the cost of the price difference and pay that to the farmers," the Union agriculture ministry said.
Union Agriculture Secretary Devesh Chaturvedi also participated in the virtual meeting.
During the discussions, both ministers agreed to compensate farmers for the price difference on 2.5 lakh tonnes of mangoes.
Previously, the Karnataka government had submitted a proposal to the Government of India, stating that prices for tomatoes and mangoes, particularly the Totapuri variety, had been falling steadily.
As part of the meeting held on Saturday, the discussions were held on providing compensation for up to 2.5 lakh metric tonnes out of Karnataka's estimated total mango production of 10 lakh metric tonnes.
Since farmers were receiving much lower-than-usual prices for Totapuri mangoes, it was decided in the virtual meeting that the difference in price from the usual market rate would be borne equally by the Centre and state governments under a central government scheme.
During the discussions, Karnataka's agriculture minister noted that while tomato prices were low at the time the proposal was submitted, prices have now stabilised, so no immediate action is needed for tomatoes.
Swamy thanked the Union minister for taking this decision to support and provide relief to mango-producing farmers in the state.
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AIITA welcomes Karnataka’s ban on obscene songs in school events
Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.
AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.
“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.
He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.
“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.
According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.
In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.
AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.
