Railway Minister Lays Foundation Stone for Perishable Cargo Centre at Singur
	18:15 IST

The Minister of Railways, Kumari Mamata Banerjee has laid the foundation for Perishable Cargo Centre at Singur in West Bengal today. In the Railway Budget 2009–10 speech, Kumari Mamata Banerjee, announced that Railways would encourage creation of facilities of cold storage and temperature controlled perishable cargo centers. Accordingly, it has been decided to build a perishable cargo, which will be first such rail-linked facility in India. The perishable cargo centre at Singur will be built at an estimated cost of Rs.3 crore. This centre will provide transit storage to perishable commodities with a capacity of storing 1500 metric tonnes. When made functional, this will usher in a new dimension in the socio-economic upliftment of the people, especially farmers of this area. Shortage of cold storage facilities and refrigerated transport lead to inefficiency in handling perishable agriculture produces which manifest itself into wastages. This post harvest wastage is estimated at 25% to 30% of the total produce. India is 2nd largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the world and is the 2nd largest vegetable exporter. One of the primary objectives of Indian Railways is to provide end to end cold chain solutions from farm gate to end customer by integrating all activities from pre and post harvest management to storage and logistics for the fresh produce. West Bengal is one of the largest producers of vegetables and fruits and the State is the second largest producer of potato in the country. Hooghly district is the main potato-growing district with the Singur block being one of the biggest in terms of potato production. Although the large number of cold storages in and around Singur, form an essential component in the supply-chain logistics of this essential commodity, there is practically very little or no other perishable cargo being dealt with at present in the cold storages that serve the catchment areas of this agriculturally rich region. There is a good potential for harnessing cold storage of a whole lot of vegetables like cabbage, beans and also fruits like Himsagar mango, guavas etc. The proposed PCC will also be targeting storage of inward perishable fruits and will be the first rail-linked perishable cargo complex in the state of West Bengal. AKS/HK/