3 more Sufal Bangla outlets to come up in S 24-Parganas

Kolkata: State Agricultural Marketing minister Tapan Dasgupta said at the state Assembly on Monday that three new Sufal Bangla outlets will soon be set up at south 24-Paragnas. The outlets will come up at Maheshtala, Sonarpur and Diamond Harbour.

Responding to a supplementary question from TMC MLA of Diamond Harbour, Dipak Kumar Halder, the minister said that 141 Sufal Bangla outlets are presently functional in the state among which 44 are located in specific places while 97 are static. Three of the outlets are being renovated.

Sufal Bangla stalls have been gradually coming up since 2014, to ensure that common people get fresh vegetables at the right price. The stalls are mainly run by different Farmers' Producers Organisations (FPOs), which collect vegetables directly from farmers and sell in these stalls. It benefits both farmers and common people.

The farmers get the right price for their produce and the involvement of middlemen is ruled out completely.

The department has set up 186 Krishak Bazars in the state till December 31, 2019, and has spent over Rs 1,082.17 crore for the purpose.

The state has come up with multipurpose cold storage facilities in a number of Krishak Bazars in the state. Temperature, humidity and other parameters are maintained through this setup.

"Around 25 per cent of the produce by farmers are wasted due to lack of warehouse facility. This compels the farmer to sell his produce at a much lower price. These facilities keep vegetables fresh for six to seven days," a department official said.