Karnataka chief secretary requests her Andhra counterpart to withdraw entry ban on Totapuri mangoes
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh on Tuesday requested her Andhra Pradesh counterpart to withdraw ban on entry of Totapuri mangoes from the state into Andhra's Chittoor district.
According to her, this "abrupt and unilateral restriction" has caused significant distress to mango farmers in Karnataka, particularly those in the border districts who cultivate large volumes of Totapuri mangoes and rely heavily on the Chittoor-based processing units for marketing their produce.
In a letter to Andhra Pradesh Chief Secretary K Vijayanand, she expressed "serious concern" regarding the order issued by the District Collector of Chittoor on June 7, which imposed a ban on the entry of Totapuri mangoes from other States.
"To enforce this order, multidisciplinary teams comprising officials from the Revenue, Police, Forest, and Marketing Departments have reportedly been deployed at all border check-posts adjoining Tamil Nadu and Karnataka," Rajneesh said in the letter.
She said that disruption of this long-established inter-state trade linkage poses "immediate threats to their livelihoods" and may result in "substantial post-harvest losses".
The letter stated that beyond the economic hardship to farmers, such a move undermines the spirit of cooperative federalism and risks triggering retaliatory sentiments.
"There is already apprehension that affected stakeholders in Karnataka may obstruct vegetable inflows from Andhra Pradesh, escalating into unnecessary inter-state tensions something we must all strive to avoid," it said.
Urging for his immediate intervention in this matter, she requested him to issue appropriate direction to the authorities in Chittoor district to revoke the said order.
"A coordinated and consultative approach would be more appropriate for addressing any concerns related to agricultural trade and phytosanitary risks, if any, while safeguarding the interests of farmers on both sides," she added.
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Man arrested with Rs 2.54-crore heroin in Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.
The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.
Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.
The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.
Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.
The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.
