CM Siddaramaiah writes to union agri minister for timely intervention to help mango farmers
Bengaluru, Jun 13 (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday requested Union Minister for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Shivaraj Singh Chouhan for an urgent Price Deficiency Payment and Market Intervention Scheme for mango farmers in Karnataka.
He has written to the union minister drawing his attention to the "severe distress" being faced by mango farmers across Karnataka due to a sharp and unsustainable decline in market prices during the current harvest season.
"Mango is one of Karnataka's major horticultural crops, cultivated over an area of approximately 1.39 lakh hectares with estimated production of 8-10 lakh metric tonne this Rabi season, particularly in Bengaluru Rural, Bengaluru Urban, Chikkaballapura, Kolar, and Bengaluru South districts," Siddaramaiah said in a letter.
Noting that during the peak harvest months of May to July, heavy market arrivals have led to substantial price fluctuations, he said market prices, which earlier hovered around Rs 12,000 per quintal, have now plummeted to as low as Rs 3,000 per quintal, while the Karnataka State Agriculture Price Commission has recommended the cost of cultivation at Rs 5,466 per quintal.
"This sharp mismatch between production costs and market realisations has placed the farming community under acute financial stress," he added.
Highlighting that thousands of small and marginal mango growers are unable to recover even their basic input costs, leading to widespread protests and growing agrarian anxiety, the CM said unless prompt and effective intervention is undertaken, this crisis may lead to serious socio-economic consequences in the region.
"In view of this grave situation, I earnestly request that immediate steps be taken to implement a Price Deficiency Payment Scheme (PDPS) under the Market Intervention Scheme (MIS) for mangoes, as an urgent policy response.
Necessary directions may also be issued to designated central procurement agencies such as NAFED and NCCF to initiate procurement operations immediately at an appropriate intervention price, ensuring that farmers receive at least the minimum cost of cultivation as a safety net," he said.
Such a timely intervention will not only help to stabilise prices but also prevent further deepening of rural distress and will ensure that the interests of our farming community are adequately protected during this difficult period, Siddaramaiah pointed out.
"I look forward to your immediate and sympathetic consideration in the larger interest of lakhs of farmers in Karnataka," he added.
Farmers in Srinivasapura, a major mango growing belt in Kolar district, bordering Andhra Pradesh, held protests and observed a taluk-level bandh on Wednesday, demanding a support price for mangoes and withdrawal of a ban imposed by the neighbouring state.
Siddaramaiah has written to his Andhra Pradesh counterpart, Chandrababu Naidu, urging him to withdraw the ban on entry of "Totapuri Mangoes" from Karnataka into Chittoor district of his state.
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Karnataka gets 200 additional medical seats in third round of NEET counselling
Bengaluru: In a significant development for medical aspirants, Karnataka has received 200 additional MBBS seats for the ongoing third round of NEET counselling, as approved by the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC).
The additional seats have been distributed across four private medical colleges, with each institution receiving 50 new seats. The colleges include Subbaiah Medical College in Shivamogga, BGS Global Institute of Medical Sciences in Bengaluru, Sridevi Medical College in Tumakuru, and AJ Institute of Medical Sciences in Mangaluru, as reported by Deccan Herald on Tuesday.
For the third round, 377 medical seats were already available and now 200 additional seats have been included.
The Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) has opened the portal for candidates to re-enter and revise their college preferences in light of the new seat availability. Option entry will remain open until 8:00 a.m. on October 15.
KEA Executive Director H. Prasanna urged candidates to carefully review the fee structures of the newly added colleges before making their selections. “Even candidates who have already been allotted and admitted to medical colleges in the first and second rounds can also participate in this round if they wish. Such candidates can enter their new options for these colleges from 11:00 a.m. on October 15 to 8:00 a.m. on October 16,” DH quoted Prasanna as saying.
Since these candidates have already paid the admission fees, they do not need to pay any caution deposit. However, those who have not yet been allotted a seat must pay the required caution deposit fee before participating.
Prasanna pointed out that if a candidate is allotted a seat in this round, admission to that seat will be compulsory.
Additionally, vacant or cancelled seats arising during the process will also be made available. “Therefore, even if some seats do not appear as available in the seat matrix, candidates are still advised to include those colleges while entering their options,” he added.
