SHILLONG, FEB 26: Agriculture Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh on Monday informed that 44 of the installed 50 cold storage facilities in the state are functional.
Lyngdoh in her reply said 8 cold storage facilities have been installed in East Khasi Hills, 3 West Khasi Hills, 1 Eastern West Khasi Hills, 1 South West Khasi Hills, 8 Ri Bhoi, 7 West Jaintia Hills, 3 East Jaintia Hills, 5 East Garo Hills, 5 West Garo Hills, 6 North Garo Hills, 1 South Garo Hills and 2 South West Garo Hills.
According to her, a total of 11,908 farmers have availed the facilities.
She informed that the cold storage facilities at Mawiong and Garobada are not functioning and a report submitted to the department have indicated that it was not feasible to revive them. In view, the government has decided to modify the two facilities into modern cold storage facilities.
The Garobada cold storage facility was not functional since 2008 and those who took the facility on lease have complaint that they are faced with heavy losses due to low voltage.