Kadapa: As drivers refuse to work, sweet lime farmers incur losses

Kadapa: Though government relaxed the lockdown restrictions and allowed transportation of vegetables and fruits by road, sweet lime and other fruits cannot be transported due to non-availability of drivers resulting in heavy losses to the farmers.

After district administration identified 350 drivers having connections with Koyambedu market and four of them tested positive, most of the drivers are not coming forward to take up transportation.

According the sources farmers have grown the sweet lime gardens in about 10,000 hectares spread in Pulivendula , Lingala, Simhadripuram, Tonduru and Vemula mandals under motor pump sets against total horticulture crop area 40,000 hectares in the district.

The sweet lime from the district were being exported to Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai and Bombay where there is good demand. Kadapa cheeni are popular for their big size, colour and for high quantity of juice. This year, the sweet lime farmers are facing hardships as the fruit was discoloured and even the quantity of juice also reduced due to delay in harvesting by the farmers

``I have never witnessed such bitter experience during my 20 years of sweet lime cultivation. I could not harvest the crop due to non- availability of drivers, on other side the size of fruit and content of juice in the fruit were reduced due to delay in harvesting the crop,'' said A Neelakanta Reddy of Vemula mandal to The Hans India.

Another farmer N. Narapu Reddy of Pulivendula stated that there was change in the size of fruit and juice content in the fruit. Drivers are not coming forward for transportation, even if they are ready they are demanding high rates for transportation.''

AP Rythu Sangam leader N. Dastagiri Reddy said that following scarcity of drivers the price of sweet lime has come down drastically in the market. He demanded the government to purchase sweet lime crop like banana and to provide Minimum Support Price to the farmers.