Private Firms will Handle Fertilizer Distribution, Says Biplab Kumar Deb

A CORRESPONDENT

AGARTALA: The days of receiving fertilizers and pesticides from government stores are going to end for the farming community of Tripura as Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb clearly indicated that his government is going to hand over all agricultural Fertilizer stores to private companies.

Addressing a public meeting at Bodhjungnagar on the outskirts of Agartala, he said that the government will take the step in this regard very soon. He said, "It is not the task of the government to sell fertiliser and pesticides," adding that nowhere in the country does the State government sell fertilisers; but Tripura has been the only exception on this score.

He stated that the previous government kept this system alive to utilise it for their political interest; but the present government wants to hand over all the stores to private hands who will handle the fertilisers and pesticide business. The government will hand over the stores on lease and will get rent from them.

At present, there are 10 district-level, 22 sub-divisional-level godowns in the State in addition to 388 stores managed by the village-level workers. All these will be leased out to private parties and services of the 872 workers hitherto involved in these stores will be utilized for other works of the department.

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