Despite a delayed start of the mango season in Chittoor district this year, mango growers are hopeful of a bumper crop and the initial crop has started arriving at the markets.
But what worries the growers and mundi operators (traders) is the acute shortage of workforce in the orchards, market yards and trading centres. Chittoor district is expecting a whopping 7 lakh tonnes of various prime varieties of mangoes spread over 1.12 lakh hectares this year.
Cheap labour
A migrant workforce of about 10,000 from Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar arrives in the district in batches from March till the end of July to work in in the mango orchards, pulp units and market yards. Both the farmers and traders usually prefer the migrant workers rather than the local force considering the flexibility in labour charges.
The nationwide lockdown since March 23 has blocked the entry of migrant workers from the north, forcing the stakeholders to depend on the local workers at considerably higher wages. The prime expenditure with the mango trade would commence from mid-May with the start of collection of the fruit from orchards, loading and unloading of stocks, crushing, grading, cutting, tinning and packaging.
Meeting
In this backdrop, the mango traders at a meeting with Chittoor Collector Narayana Bharat Gupta on Wednesday urged him to allow migrant workforce from other States into the district. But, the Collector said that under the present circumstances, no such permission could be given.
The traders urged the Collector to at least allow workers from Prakasam and Kurnool districts, to which Mr. Gupta said that the request would be scrutinised as Chittoor was a red zone. The traders were told to furnish information pertaining to the inter-district workers along with Aadhaar numbers. The departments of Revenue, Horticulture and Agriculture would coordinate with one another to find a solution to this piquant situation.
Guidelines
Mr. Gupta told the traders to strictly adhere to the COVID-19 guidelines, which included conducting business between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., and supply of masks and sanitisers to the workers. The patrons who engage the workforce should also bear the responsibility of providing them shelter and food. Those who were above the age of 60 and the women with children below the age of 5 have been barred from working in the market yards and orchards.
When the traders said that business activity was not being allowed in Damalacheruvu, Pakala and Bangarupalem by the police, the Collector spoke to the police authorities and sorted out the issue immediately. The official said that the lockdown would not deter them from procuring permissions for vehicles to transport the stocks.
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