Nod to transport of fresh vegetables from Chandigarh in IAF planes

Leh, January 4

The Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), Leh, has made the requisition for the sanctioning of 150 metric tonnes of civil tonnage for the transportation of fresh vegetables from Chandigrah through the Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft in Leh district from January to February, which has been sanctioned.

Ladakh faces extreme shortage of fresh vegetables during the peak winter from mid-December to February due to the lack of locally unavailable cultivated vegetables and the frequent closure of the Leh-Srinagar national highway and the Leh-Manali highway for five to six months from December to April.

During these dry periods in winters, the Ladakh region completely depends on the air supplies to meet the demands for fresh vegetables. The Cooperative Department has been entrusted the procurement of vegetables and supply to public in Leh town and Diskit, the sub-divisional headquarters, Nobra.

The Registrar of the Cooperative Department, Leh , Ghulam Tak, said the supply of fresh vegetables twice a week was made available to the public through the cooperative sale counter.

Tak also said that the ration card in Leh town was made compulsory for this season for availing fresh vegetable supplies at the cooperative counter and it was made to ensure fair distribution of imported vegetables from Chandigarh to the public at lower prices than at the commercial rate of those vegetables imported through private airlines which became costlier. The executive councillor of the LAHDC, Leh, for food and supplies, Phunchok Stanzin said, the Ladakh Union Territory Administration had allocated nearly Rs 10 crore to meet the transportation charges of the vegetables, including essential commodities. — OC