Harsimrat opens food park in U’khand

Tribune News Service

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Dehradun, April 8

Union Minister for Food Processing Industries Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Sunday inaugurated the second mega food park in Udham Singh Nagar district.

The park has been set up at a cost of Rs 99.96 crore and will benefit around 25,000 farmers in this as well as neighbouring states.

Harsimrat said the Central Government was committed to uplift the status of farmers in the country.

She said the mega food park on 50.14 acre had a central processing centre as well as three primary processing centres at Ram Nagar, Ramgarh and Kaladungi.

“The park will not only benefit farmers of Udham Singh Nagar, but also those of nearby districts of Nainital, Pauri Garhwal, Almora and Champawat’’, said Harsimrat Badal.

She said the food processing sector would contribute towards doubling farmers’ income in the coming years by working to achieve this goal through the implementation of projects under the flagship scheme of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana.

The Union minister said the mega food park would leverage an additional investment of about Rs 250 crore in 25 to 30 food processing units and would eventually lead to a turnover of about Rs 450-Rs 500 crore annually.

“The park will also provide direct and indirect employment to 5,000 persons and benefit about 25,000 farmers”, she added.

The minister said modern infrastructure at the park would benefit farmers, growers, processors and consumers of the state and adjoining areas and prove to be a big boost to the growth of the food processing sector in Uttarakhand.

The Union minister also highlighted how her ministry, under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was focusing on boosting the food processing industry, so that the agriculture sector could grow exponentially and become a major contributor to doubling the farmers' income.

The Kashipur food park is the second one in the state. The first such park is already operational in Haridwar district. Union Minister of State for Food Processing Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti and Cabinet minister Prakash Pant were present.