Sri Ganganagar to get India’s first ‘carrot mandi’

Farmers in Fazilka, Muktsar, parts of Rajasthan and Haryana are set to benefit from the country’s first designated ‘carrot mandi’ being established at Sadhuwali village on the Punjab-Rajasthan border in Sri Ganganagar district in Rajasthan.

The construction work formally began today. The mandi is expected to directly benefit around 7,000 farmers from Sri Ganganagar, Hanumangarh and nearby districts of Punjab and Haryana. Previously, farmers washed and sold their carrot produce along a canal on Abohar-Sri Ganganagar highway.

Nearly 6,000-7,000 quintals of carrots are already traded from this area annually. The buyers from West Bengal, Assam, Bihar and various other parts of the country also come here.

BJP MLA from Sadulshahar Gurveer Singh Brar said, “The Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) is setting up the first dedicated carrot mandi in the country by spending nearly Rs 19 crore. Earlier, the system was unorganised and farmers had no proper facility to sell their produce. This mandi is a major demand of the region and will streamline the marketing of carrots.”

The mandi is expected to boost trade efficiency, ensure better prices for farmers and attract more traders to the area, he claimed.

Jasvir Singh, a carrot grower from Kallarkhera village, said, “The mandi will prove beneficial for us. Traders from various states come to Sadhuwali, and now we will be able to place our produce there easily.”

Some carrot growers from Gumjal, Kallarkhera, Usmankhera, Tootwala, Panniwala Mahlan, and Maujgarh villages said the Punjab government should also do something to promote carrot cultivation and its marketing.