Mango trees in about 30,000 hectares in Kolar and Chickballapur are withering due to lack of rain.
While nature has been unkind to farmers, the government machinery has not been helpful either, as the inordinate delay in starting the mango processing training centre on the outskirts of Chintamani in Chickballapur district testifies.
Work on this state-of-the-art facility started in early 2008, but has not been inaugurated to this day.
Rs. 14.5 cr. sanctioned
The government had sanctioned Rs. 14.5 crore for the centre for the convenience of mango growers in the two adjoining districts where mango is traditionally grown on large tracts. Though the building construction was completed two years ago, infrastructure works are still “under progress”, causing inordinate delay in the centre starting to function. Machinery worth Rs. 10 crore is to be installed at the demo block of the centre to give practical training to the farmers on mango processing, Assistant Director, Horticulture Department, who had earlier worked on the project, said.
“Staff, including the deputy director, assistant director and manager, has already been appointed for the centre,” he told The Hindu .
Chintamani MLA J.K. Krishna Reddy said he will write to the Horticulture Minister demanding action against erring officers.
