Farmers in Lamahi municipality of Dang district will soon be able to store their perishable agricultural produce once the cold storage facility is constructed. The government of India provided the financial support for the construction.

On May 26, a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for construction of a five storey cold storage facility at Lamahi in Dang district was signed by ShriGyanveer Singh, Second Secretary in the Embassy of India, Kathmandu, ShriLalit Kumar Thapa, Executive Officer of Lamahi Municipality and ShriDewan Jang Chaudhary, Managing Director of RaptiUddhyam Pvt Ltd.

The government of India committed a total of Rs46 million for this project under its Small Development Programme Scheme, the fifth development project funded by the Indian government in Dang district.

Farmers in the area have been facing the issue of proper handling and storage of their perishable agricultural produce for some time now. The lack of proper storage facility resulted in farmers being forced to sell their produce at a loss.

The new cold storage facility will allow farmers to store their produce longer and get better prices, thus improving their income levels and raising their standard of living. The government of Nepal has also pledged its support to the project.

According to the MoU, the Manahi municipality will prepare a work schedule, invite tenders for the construction of the project to be completed in 15 months. A monitoring committee will be oversee the progress and regularly submit progress reports to the Embassy of India in Kathmandu. Members from Lamahi municipality and RaptiUddyam Pvt will be in the monitoring committee.

The project will get the funds in stages as per the physical progress of the project. Four other projects in Dang have already been completed with the support of the Indian government. In addition to financial support, the government of India has provided 13 ambulances and two buses after recognising the need of the people in the district. Under the India-Nepal Economic Cooperation Programme, the government of India has been providing financial assistance for various large and small development projects in different parts of Nepal. These development projects, undertaken in response to local needs and in partnership with the government of Nepal, focuses on education, health and infrastructure development.