The provincial government has invested 70 percent, the municipality 15 percent, and the Palung cooperatives 15 percent in the cold storage facility, which was built at a cost of Rs. 250 million in 2017/18.
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Preparations are underway to bring the cold store, built at a cost of about 250 million rupees, into operation in Thaha Municipality-3, which is famous for vegetable production. The municipal office is busy preparing a procedure for operating the cold store.
Preparations are underway to operate the cold store, built on public land in Ghartikhola, Thaha Municipality-3, within the current fiscal year. The necessary equipment has been installed in the cold store and preparations are being made to make the procedure and bring it into operation soon, said Thaha Municipality Mayor Bishnu Bista.
The cold store was built with the joint investment of the Bagmati Provincial Government, local levels and cooperatives. The provincial government has invested 70 percent in the cold store, the municipality 15 percent and the Palung cooperatives 15 percent in the cold store, which was built in 2074/075.
The provincial government has repeatedly invested 175 million rupees for the cold store, Thaha The municipality and local cooperatives have invested Rs 75 million. The cold storage with a capacity of 2,000 metric tons can store vegetables such as potatoes, radishes, cauliflower, cabbage, peppers, and tomatoes.
Initially, the cold storage was estimated to be built with an investment of about Rs 11.5 million. Later, the design was changed, which led to an increase in the cost. Sujan Kandel, Information Officer at the Ministry of Agriculture of Bagmati Province, said, "Initially, it was designed to store only potatoes, but later we changed it to be able to store other vegetables and fruits produced in the area."
Due to the lack of cold storage, farmers in this area have been selling vegetables and fruits as soon as they are produced. When the cold storage is operational, local farmers hope that they can get a good price by storing vegetables produced in the season there and selling them in the market when there is a shortage. Mayor Bista said that the construction work has been carried out with the joint investment of the provincial government, cooperatives and Thaha Municipality as the cold store in the northern part of Makawanpur is in great need. A cold store has been constructed on an area of 10 ropanis.
Only 20,000 sacks of seed potatoes from around Thaha Municipality in the northern part of the district have been stored in the cold store in Kathmandu. This year, farmers have had to pay Rs 800 per sack for their seed potatoes, including transportation.
There is a cold store operated by the private sector in Hetauda. Similarly, the Bagmati Provincial Government has constructed cold stores in 10 districts except the valley. But apart from the cold store built in Rasuwa, none have been operational yet. Not a single cold store built by the provincial government has been handed over yet.
