The Government has given licence to Mandi Parishad for liquor trade under the foreign liquor policy and it should give marketing rights of liquor to Mandi Samitis as they have good network and space, said chairman of Uttarakhand Agriculture Production Marketing Committee (UAPMC), Ravindra Singh while addressing the mediapersons here on Thursday.
He said Mandi Samitis can also be given share in marketing of liquor along with Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN) and Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN). He said the presidents of all Mandi Samitis would participate in a meeting in State Capital on Friday and discuss ways to strengthen agriculture marketing in State. Singh said the discussions on bringing flowers, herbs and sugarcane bagasse under the purview of Mandi Samitis were expected to take place during the meeting.
He said the Samitis would ask the State Government to issue notification for inclusion of the above mentioned goods under Mandi Act so that revenues of the mandis were increased. Singh was of view that bringing marketing of flowers produced in State under Mandi Samitis would help in giving better value to the producers. The chairman of UAPMC said both farmers and State of Uttarakhand would be benefited if the Government accepted the proposal as middlemen would be removed from the trade of flowers and herbs.
He said after the meeting the presidents of all Mandi Samitis would meet the State Agriculture Minister Harak Singh Rawat and request him to take cognizance of their demands. Singh said the Government had given its nod for setting up ten shops each at Delhi and Mumbai so that the flowers produced in the State can be sold there. He said the Mandi Samitis would ply ten Air Conditioned buses each in Kumaon and Garhwal divisions to transport the flowers produce free of cost.