321 village markets to be set up in K'taka

Moodabidre, Karnataka, Nov 7 (UNI) Karnataka Agricultural Produce Marketing Minister Sharanabasappa Gowda Darshanapur today said that to help the rural growers market their produce, the State Government has taken up a project of setting up 321 'Grama Santhe' (village market) through the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committees to avoid middlemen.

Laying the foundation stone for Rs ten lakh Gujjaragundi-Belawai link road and Rs five lakh Ashathpura Grameena Santhe marketing yard near here, he said NABARD had provided Rs 36 crore financial assistance for the Grama Santhe project and work on 204 Grama Santhes would be taken up during the current year at a cost of Rs 15 crore. The project also involved development of roads connecting these grama santhes with nearby villages, he added.

The growers could directly come to these grama santhes and sell their produces, the Minister said, adding that only 40 to 45 per cent of the growers were coming directly to the market, while the rest sold through middlemen.

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