Dehradun: BJP legislator Malchand highlighted the problems apple growers were facing in the absence of cold storage facilities and packing caskets at the apple festival here today. A number of Congress leaders were present on the occasion.
Agriculture Minister Harak Singh Rawat repeatedly quoted Malchand, who was given a place on the dais, but the latter raised the issues of the apple farmers of Uttarkashi. Significantly, Malchand has been raising the issue of the non-availability of packaging boxes to farmers in the Assembly every now and then and has been demanding setting up of cold storage houses in the apple belt of Uttarkashi.
However, Harak Rawat cut a sorry figure, and offered a lame excuse saying the Department could not fulfil its promise of providing hardboard boxes with Uttarakhand Apple logo printed prominently on them. “We could not start the tender process on time and as a result our plan to provide boxes with Uttarakhand Apples logo to farmers could not materialise,” said Rawat.
It may be recalled that farmers have been constantly demanding boxes rather than wooden crates for storing apples. In the absence of boxes w5ith Uttarakhand Apples logo, apple farmers of the state are forced to buy crates from Himachal Pradesh to sell their products.
This diminishes the product value of Uttarrakhand apples as they are packed in boxes carrying Himachal Apple logo. “We are forced to sell our produce in the crates and boxes that carry logo Himachal Apple,” said Jagdish Chand a farmer.
When the issue was highlighted in the Assembly, Harak Rawat had said the government would ensure that boxes were provided to apple farmers in 2015 but that was not the case so far. He also used the opportunity to criticise the Jagdamba Samiti for monopolizing the only cold storage.
Malchand also asked the government to set up cold storage facilities for farmers. He criticised a local NGO for monopolizing the facility. The MLA also used the opportunity to send a subtle message to his party about the issues he would be raising in view of the 2017 Assembly elections.
Agriculture Minister Harak Singh Rawat repeatedly quoted Malchand, who was given a place on the dais, but the latter raised the issues of the apple farmers of Uttarkashi. Significantly, Malchand has been raising the issue of the non-availability of packaging boxes to farmers in the Assembly every now and then and has been demanding setting up of cold storage houses in the apple belt of Uttarkashi.
However, Harak Rawat cut a sorry figure, and offered a lame excuse saying the Department could not fulfil its promise of providing hardboard boxes with Uttarakhand Apple logo printed prominently on them. “We could not start the tender process on time and as a result our plan to provide boxes with Uttarakhand Apples logo to farmers could not materialise,” said Rawat.
It may be recalled that farmers have been constantly demanding boxes rather than wooden crates for storing apples. In the absence of boxes w5ith Uttarakhand Apples logo, apple farmers of the state are forced to buy crates from Himachal Pradesh to sell their products.
This diminishes the product value of Uttarrakhand apples as they are packed in boxes carrying Himachal Apple logo. “We are forced to sell our produce in the crates and boxes that carry logo Himachal Apple,” said Jagdish Chand a farmer.
When the issue was highlighted in the Assembly, Harak Rawat had said the government would ensure that boxes were provided to apple farmers in 2015 but that was not the case so far. He also used the opportunity to criticise the Jagdamba Samiti for monopolizing the only cold storage.
Malchand also asked the government to set up cold storage facilities for farmers. He criticised a local NGO for monopolizing the facility. The MLA also used the opportunity to send a subtle message to his party about the issues he would be raising in view of the 2017 Assembly elections.
No comments:
Post a Comment