Hans News Service Chittoor

Chittoordistrict Collector Sumit Kumar assured that all eligible farmers, who suffered losses in Totapuri mango crop, would receive subsidy as per the State government’s guidelines. Addressing a press conference at the Collectorate on Friday, he said the subsidy distribution process would be transparent and free from irregularities. The Collector said beneficiaries will be identified through Gram Sabhas, field inspections, previous year’s cultivation records, farmer verification, and crop e-KYC, adding that every genuine farmer affected by crop losses would receive justice. He said Totapuri mango is cultivated in about 51,736 hectares across the district, with an estimated production of 5.174 lakh metric tonnes based on an average yield of 10 metric tonnes per hectare. Nearly 35,000 farming families depend on the crop, as Chittoor is a major centre for mango pulp production and exports in South India. Sumit Kumar said an expert team appointed by Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), under the directions of Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, has been visiting the district to study issues related to Totapuri mango cultivation. The team is interacting with farmers, officials, pulp industry representatives, and exporters to assess the situation and recommend measures to improve demand, quality, exports, marketing, and processing.

Referring to Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, the Collector said the exercise is progressing smoothly. Of the district’s 13,40,126 voters, enumeration forms have been distributed to 13,39,675 voters, achieving 99.97 per cent coverage. So far, 10,67,946 forms have been digitised, taking overall digitisation to 79.69 per cent. Officials have identified 19,701 deceased voters, 8,344 voters, who have permanently shifted, 7,263 duplicate voters enrolled elsewhere, 789 absent voters, and 108 other cases. A total of 36,205 voters, or 2.70 per cent of the electorate, have been classified as uncollectible. The Collector urged voters to use the Election Commission’s ECINET app or voters portal to book a call with their Booth Level Officer (BLO), who will provide assistance within 48 hours.