Govt has set into motion golden era of development; Massive turnaround in JKs socio-economic scenario will be visible in coming years
BARAMULLA, OCTOBER 15: Minister for Horticulture, Hajj and Auqaf, Abdul Rehman Veeri has said the fruit market Baramulla would be upgraded on modern lines so that it matches the benchmark standards in the sector.
Government is acquiring additional 26 kanals of land for up-gradation of Fruit Mandi Baramulla and for this purpose Rs 2.50 crore already stand released towards cost of land compensation, the Minister said during his visit to the Fruit Mandi Baramulla located in Kansipora area of the district. He said the Mandi is presently spread over 41 kanals of land.
Taking stock of the facilities developed at the Mandi, the Minister assured more funds for it to take up additional infrastructure development works.
He directed the concerned authorities to ensure time bound completion of requisite infrastructure facilities in the Mandi for its early operationalization. He said the shopping sites at the Mandi would be allotted to the deserving growers and traders through draw of lots in due course of time.
The Minister was accompanied by MLAs Javaid Hassan Beigh, Yawar Dilawar Mir, DDC Baramulla, Director HP&M, Executive Engineer HPM and senior officers of Horticulture and HPM Departments.
Addressing the growers and traders on the occasion, the Horticulture Minister asked the growers to explore rail transport as an option for export of quality fruits to markets outside. He said the Mandi will be upgraded to match the Countrywide standards and will have add-on facilities like CA stores, packaging and grading line, soil testing lab, online trading and dedicated transport terminals.
He also sought cooperation of leading fruit growers for establishing cold storage chains for quality improvement of fruits, particularly apple. He said several CA stores have come up at Industrial Growth Centre (IGC) Lassipora in district Pulwama and the same needs to be done in other areas of the State.
The Horticulture Minister said 4000 kanals of orchard land has been identified to be covered under high density apple plantation in Kashmir during next season. He said the high density plant material would be imported from Europe and would be provided on subsidized rates to the growers besides imparting them technical know-how. All preparations in this regard are being completed to import the high density apple plants and its root stocks from Europe, he said
The Government has already announced market intervention scheme for Sopore and Shopian towns for quality control. The fruit growers will also be provided insurance cover against weather vagaries, Veeri said.
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