Lockdown: 12 new markets coming up near Bengaluru to help farmers

To help farmers reeling under the coronavirus-drive lockdown, the government has dusted off an old proposal to establish 12 new markets around Bengaluru city, which will now be fast-tracked.

This decision was taken during a meeting of Deputy Chief Minister CN Ashwath Narayan-led group of ministers that is in charge of supply chain management for essential goods.

“The government’s aim is to ensure a market for farmers’ fruits and vegetables and getting them supplied to consumers at the right price,” Narayan told reporters via video conference. “We have asked the Bengaluru Urban deputy commissioner to identify land for this at 50% guidance value. It was an old proposal, which has got a fillip now. The markets will be up and running soon,” he said.

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Narayan claimed that there was no issue with APMC markets. “There is business happening and procurement is going on,” he said.

Apparently, procurement of horticulture produce has gone up from 1,500 tonnes per day to 5,000 tonnes to be marketed through Hopcoms. “All fruits are being transported and movement is happening. Tomato alone, 1,200 tonnes are being procured to be processed to make ketchup. For grapes, we have allowed wineries to function. We're considering a proposal to allow distilleries to open so they can procure grapes," Narayan said.

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Inter-state transport of farm produce is allowed, Narayan said, adding that there were problems in some districts because of “local decisions” taken by the ministers in charge and deputy commissioners. “District-level decisions cannot be taken. We need to follow Centre’s guidelines uniformly,” he said.

There was no shortage of rice, wheat, oil or any other food items in the state, Narayan said.

The only concern was the floriculture sector, Narayan said. “Flower growers are the worst-hit because they’re the ones who don’t have a market as all events have been cancelled. It has been decided to assess the extent of damage they have suffered,” he said.