Kolkata: The state government will set up 775 onion preservation units across West Bengal, each with a capacity of 25 metric tonnes, to prevent sharp fluctuations in onion prices.
“Onion cultivation in the state has increased by leaps and bounds, but preservation has remained a challenge. Hence, we have decided to establish 775 onion storage facilities across 10 major onion-producing districts. The total allocation for this project is over Rs 9.65 crore,” said Becharam Manna, Minister in Charge of the Agricultural Marketing Department.
The facilities will come up in Malda, Murshidabad, Nadia, North 24-Parganas, South 24-Parganas, Hooghly, East Burdwan, Birbhum, Bankura and West Midnapore. The state will provide a subsidy of up to Rs 1.25 lakh for each unit.
So far, 2,261 applications have been received for setting up these facilities. In Hooghly district alone, 175 of the 352 applications have been approved after scrutiny and an online lottery process.
West Bengal currently imports around seven lakh metric tonnes of onions annually from Nashik, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Bihar to meet its total demand of 14 lakh metric tonnes. When the Mamata Banerjee government first came to power in 2011, local production met only about 20 per cent of the state’s requirement.b “With the new storage infrastructure, farmers will be able to preserve onions for longer periods and fetch better prices. Dependence on imports will also reduce,” said a Nabanna official.
He added that during summer, onions decompose quickly due to heat. “If stored properly, they can last up to six months and help stabilise market prices,” the official said.