SRINAGAR: Advisor to Lieutenant Governor, Farooq Ahmad Khan on Monday visited Parimpora Fruit Mandi where he inspected the status of basic infrastructure and availability of other paramount facilities. During his visit to the Fruit Mandi, he underlined the need to develop and renovate it on modern lines for promotion of fruit trade besides developing its capacity to cater to the future demand of the business activities. He said Parimpora Fruit Mandi is the face of Kashmir horticulture industry and its development is imperative to give flip to the fruit trade.
During his visit, he chaired a meeting of officers and Fruit Association members in which different issues were raised by the Association representatives which needed prime focus for early redressal.
The meeting was attended by the Director Horticulture, Aijaz Bhat, Director Agriculture, Mohammad Iqbal Choudhury, Director Marketing and Planning, OSD to Advisor, Mohammad Ashraf Hakak, ACR, Srinagar, President and Vice-President of the Association besides other officers and members.
Advisor called the Association of fruit dealers of the Mandi as the main stakeholders who have to share responsibility and asked them to cooperate with the government for beautification and development of mandi.
On the occasion, the President Fruit Mandi Association, Shabir Ah Shabir apprised Advisor regarding multiple issues confronted by them including bad condition of interior roads, lack of drainage facility, deficiency of electric transformers, shortage of electricity, encroachment of land belonging to Mandi, regularization of land and shop leases, collection and disposal of organic garbage and other issues.
Advisor on the occasion issued directions to concerned officers for macadamisation of all the interior roads as well as the main roads leading to the Mandi so that transporters don’t face any problem.
He also directed the Director Marketing and Planning and Assistant Commissioner Revenue, Srinagar to identify the land for truck terminal.
Advisor was informed that the earlier terminal available to the mandi truckers was converted into the bus stand and requested that the truck terminal shall be provided to them as soon as possible.
Advisor further directed officers of KPDCL to provided three electric transformers with enhanced capacity as the demand for electricity in the mandi has increased besides CA store is also coming up there.
Advisor Farooq Khan also impressed upon the ACR and Tehsildar Parimpora to demarcate the contours of the land belonging to the mandi and identify the encroached 24 kanals. Besides, he directed that the encroached land shall be retrieved immediately.
The Association members also raised the regularization of lease deal of land and reducing the rent of shops and stores.
Meanwhile, the Advisor also impressed upon the Association members to share their responsibility to facelift the infrastructure belonging to them.
Association members requested Advisor Khan that with the coming cherry and strawberry season, the vehicles exporting these fruits should be given special movement permission so these vehicles don’t get stuck on the National Highway as these fruits have little shelf life and the stuck up trucks on the Highway leads to economic loss.
However, the Advisor said that the government is contemplating to start cargo service to airlift the perishable fruits having less shelf life besides he said that the condition of the Highway is being improved.
The Association members expressed gratitude to the LG, Manoj Sinha and Advisor Khan for taking effective measures for promotion and providing support to the fruit industry of Kashmir.
