New Delhi: Union Minister of Food Processing Industries Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Monday inaugurated the Zoram Mega Food Park at Kolasib in Mizoram through video-conference. The Food Park built at a cost of Rs 75 crore and spread over 55 Acres of land will directly benefit over 25,000 farmers and will provide employment opportunities to over 5,000 people in the region.
Describing the inauguration of the food park as a new dawn for the region, Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal said that it will go a long way in realizing the dream of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for an Atmanirbhar Bharat.
Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), Dr Jitendra said, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi has accorded highest priority to North-Eastern Region in the last 6 years and the changed the work culture with micro attention to the needs and aspirations of the region.”
He said, soon after the Modi Government took over in 2014, Prime Minister had stated that every effort would be made to bring the North Eastern region at par with the more developed regions of the country. There is a need to bring rest of India closer to North East as the tiny states offer so much to learn from its rich and diverse cultural experiences.”
Hailing the inauguration of Zoram Mega Food Park, Dr. Jitendra Singh said that it will help in doubling the income of farmers in the area by doing away with the middlemen. Referring to nearly 40% wastage of fruits in the absence of any processing unit, the Minister said the rich and high variety of fruits could also be sold as pure packaged juice in major metropolitan cities in India. He said, the North-East Region has the potential to become the Organic Destination of the world due to its rich agricultural and horticultural produce. He informed that Sikkim has already been declared as an organic state.
Dr Jitendrta Singh said that Zoram Mega Food Park located near National Highway 54 will help in overcoming the transportation constraints and will soon become a major milestone for the storage and processing of high variety of foods, spices, fruits and vegetables grown in the region.
Minister of State for Food Processing Rameshwar Teli said that in the last six years of Narendra Modi Government 37 Mega Food Parks have been approved and 18 of them are already in operation.
