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Mamata Banerjee lays foundation stone for perishable cargo centre at Singur | Union Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday laid the
foundation for Perishable Cargo Centre (PCC) at Singur in West Bengal. Earlier,
in the Railway Budget 2009-10 speech, Mamata had announced that Railways would
encourage creation of facilities of cold storage and temperature controlled perishable
cargo centers. Accordingly, it was decided to build a perishable cargo, which
will be first such rail-linked facility in the country. The perishable cargo centre
at Singur will be built at an estimated cost of Rs. 3 crore and the centre will
provide transit storage to perishable commodities with a capacity of storing 1500
metric tonnes. When made functional, this will usher in a new dimension in the
socio-economic upliftment of the people, especially farmers of the area. Shortage
of cold storage facilities and refrigerated transport lead to inefficiency in
handling perishable agriculture produces, which manifest itself into wastages.
This post harvest wastage is estimated at 25 percent to 30 percent of the total
produce. West Bengal is one of the largest producers of vegetables and fruits
and it is also the second largest producer of potato in the country. Hooghly district
is the main potato-growing district with the Singur block being one of the biggest
in terms of potato production. Although the large number of cold storages in and
around Singur, form an essential component in the supply-chain logistics of this
essential commodity, there is practically very little or no other perishable cargo
being dealt with at present in the cold storages that serve the catchment areas
of this agriculturally rich region. There is a good potential for harnessing cold
storage of a whole lot of vegetables like cabbage, beans and also fruits like
Himsagar mango and guavas. The proposed PCC will also be targeting storage of
inward perishable fruits and will be the first rail-linked perishable cargo complex
in West Bengal. |
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