Ranchi
The Jharkhand Legislative Assembly was informed on Wednesday that the state government plans to set up a cold storage facility in every assembly constituency to support farmers and reduce post-harvest losses.
Agriculture Minister Shilpi Neha Tirkey said that for the 2026–27 financial year, budgetary provisions have been made to construct one cold storage unit in each constituency, based on recommendations from legislators.
She added that at present, every district either has or is in the process of getting a cold storage facility with a capacity of 5,000 metric tonnes.
The announcement came in response to concerns raised by Dumri MLA Jairam Mahto, who alleged that farmers are often forced to sell produce at distress prices due to inadequate storage infrastructure.
On a query regarding providing loans to farmers against stored produce, Tirkey clarified that there is currently no such proposal under consideration.
Meanwhile, BJP MLA Raj Sinha flagged the repeated cave-in of a stretch of an eight-lane road in Dhanbad district, claiming the issue has occurred multiple times despite significant expenditure.
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Responding to this, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Radhakrishna Kishore assured the House that a probe would be conducted if any misuse of funds is found.
