Tanahun. Arrangements have been made to store potatoes free of cost at the chilling center constructed at Gaihrabari of Byas Municipality-11 of the district. Potato storage of seeds has been made free of cost as the first year of operation of the center is the testing time.

The centre has been constructed on three ropanis of land. The potato has been stored after the municipality said that it would bear the risk of damage while storing it.

According to Samiksha Pokharel, chief of agriculture, livestock and cooperative development sub-section, eight metric tonnes of potatoes have been stored after the centre was brought into operation. According to him, potato seeds of this quantity have been stored at The Golden New Goreto Cooperative Society at Byas-9, Hariyali Krishak Group of Byas-5, Shyamgha Small Farmers Group of Byas-6, Risti Madi Farmers Group and Krishi Gyan Kendra.

Chief Pokharel said that the municipality has been running the center on its own after it did not receive any application from any cooperative society or private farm despite issuing three notices for the operation of the center. Stating that the 130-metric-tonne chilling centre has been formally brought into operation since Mid-April, he said the centre has been constructed with the joint investment of gandaki state government and Byas municipality.

Devchuli Construction Company Pvt Ltd had taken the responsibility of constructing the center. The company had signed an agreement on September 15, 2017 and the construction work was carried out. BheshRaj Tiwari, planning section officer of Byas municipality, said that the electricity authority did not install the three-phase transmitter in time, which delayed it by a year.

According to him, the initial contract amount was Rs 16,232,246, which has increased by another Rs 1,998,627 to Rs 9,132,722 including taxes.

Chief Administrative Officer Kashiram Gaire said that the municipality has constructed a chilling center by protecting the public land which has been occupied by the people for many years. Fruits and vegetables including potatoes, oranges and potatoes produced in Byas municipality can be fully stored from the next fiscal year, he added.

Byas Municipality Mayor Baikuntha Neupane said that around Rs 50 million will be stopped annually after the construction of the center. “After the operation of the chilling center in Byas, agricultural produce including potatoes, fruits and vegetables can be stored and kept safe.

With this, we believe that the problem of taking agricultural produce to Pokhara and Chitwan for storage will end,” he said. With the operation of the chilling center, the farmers here have become commercially excited as it will be easier to store agricultural produce.

According to the municipality, the centre is particularly important for maintaining price balance in the market by storing potatoes, vegetables and other agricultural products in the long run.