GULBARGA: The State Government and the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) have decided to construct a new vegetable and fruit market in place of the old market on the outskirts of the city at an estimated cost of Rs. 7.4 crore, under the National Horticulture Mission.

While the existing market, which was established several decades ago in the Super Market area, is overcrowded with shops that have spilled onto the roadside, there is no fruit or flower market in the city.

Agricultural Marketing Minister Sharanabasappa Darshanapur, who mooted the proposal and got the Government's approval for it, told The Hindu here on Saturday that the new market would be established on 12 acres of land owned by the APMC on Taj Sultanpur Road adjacent to the Gulbarga Ring Road. Originally the Government had decided to shift the existing vegetable market to the Cotton Market Yard, which is not in use, in the Nehru Gunj locality. But this proposal was given up as there would not have been scope to further develop the market at the yard, he said.

Mr. Darshanapur said that around 1.55 lakh tonnes of fruit, including mangoes, bananas, lemons and grapes, were being produced in the district every year, but there was no proper facility to market them. Also, it was not possible to accommodate the 1.12 lakh tonnes of vegetables and 11,197 tonnes of spices grown every year in the district at the existing vegetable market. He said the new market would have all modern amenities, including solar lighting, a rainwater harvesting system, a biogas generation plant, a spacious parking lot and concrete roads. It would have 80 big shops and 77 small ones.

Mr. Darshanapur said 25 per cent of the project's cost would be borne by the National Horticulture Mission. The APMC had decided to take loans from banks to secure 70 per cent of the remaining funds, while traders would contribute the remaining five per cent. The shops would be allotted on a lease-cum-sale basis to traders on the condition that they repay the cost of the shops in five to 10 instalments, to enable the APMC to repay the loans taken from the banks.

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