Port Blair, June 27: Under one of the ongoing projects of Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) titled “Creation of Marketing Infrastructure- Installation of Cold Room Chambers”, provisions are kept to support Gram Panchayats, Registered societies and Primary Agriculture Co-operative Societies (PACS) by providing 75% of the cost subsidy and technical guidance to install Cold Room Chambers. The main motto of this project is to avoid post harvest losses. Farmers, vegetable and fruit vendors can keep their produces and also surplus produce after sale in these cold room chambers, thus avoiding distress sale, remunerative price and the consumer will also have quality produces stored in hygienic condition.
So far, the Agriculture Department under RKVY has installed 23 cold room chambers at vegetable markets maintained by the Gram Panchayats of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Tribal Councils and ANCOFED, thus creating cold storage capacity of 52 MT. Recently the Chief Secretary, Andaman and Nicobar Administration inaugurated 08 MT capacities of Cold Room Chambers in the premises of ANCOFED at Dollygunj Industrial Estate which was supported by the Agriculture Department under RKVY.
The Gram panchayats, Registered Societies and PACS may avail the benefits provided by the Agriculture Department under RKVY for installation of these Cold Room Chambers. They may contact their respective Zonal Officer or the Assistant Director (AE) (FM) at Directorate of Agriculture for further details.
