PM to give integrated pack house to Purvanchal this year

VARANASI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will gift a new Integrated pack house to the farmers of east Uttar Pradesh during his proposed visit to Varanasi on March 24.

The facility, to be the third such one in the state, will be used for the storage and packaging of vegetables and fruits, and to boost agricultural exports from the region.

The pack house was built on a 4,461 square feet area in Karkhiyaon at Rs 15.78 crore.

It is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment with the aim to ramp up the supply of Banarasi langra mango, cauliflower, green chilli and tomato, which are grown in abundance in east UP, to Japan, Australia, Korea and Europe.

Single-window clearance has been put in place for faster documentation. Farmers will be trained to ensure that their produce matches international standards. After Saharanpur and Lucknow, this will be the third integrated pack house in the state and the first in the Purvanchal region, said an official.

Dr C.B. Singh, Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) deputy general manager, said only good quality and disease-free fruits would be stored at the pack house, and even the equipment used in the facility were made in India.