District Collector P.S. Pradyumna on Thursday evening flagged off from the Collectorate a truck with 1.5 tonnes of honey for rituals at the Lord Venkatateswara temple at Tirumala.
Speaking to reporters, Mr. Pradyumna said for the first time in the State, the Chittoor district administration had formed a society of honey producers in August 2018. Within nine months, the society, under the District Rural Development Authority (DRDA), involved 1,620 farmers and trained them in rearing honeybees.
So far, he said, 9,720 boxes of honey had been extracted and more than 60 tonnes of honey had been marketed. “The society is rearing queen bees and giving them to farmers. Each kg of honey is being sold at ₹300-450 based on grades,” he said.
“The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams had been allocated 6 tonnes of honey. Steps will be taken to supply stocks not only to the TTD, but to all premier temple administrations in the State and neighbouring States. We have already supplied honey to Telangana and Kerala,” Mr. Pradyumna said.
