Varanasi: A cold storage facility, having a capacity of 5 metric tonne, established at Lal Bahadur Shastri International (LBSI) cargo terminal was inaugurated by the regional executive director, Northern region Airport Authority of India, DK Kamra on Wednesday.
Varanasi and neighbouring districts have a good production of vegetables turning the region into a hub of export of fresh and processed vegetables. However, the export of vegetable and perishable produces could not be continued in full stream due to lack of required cold chain infrastructure. There was a regular of cold storage to accommodate the agri produces in case of requirement. The airport director took the initiative to create the long pending facility in cargo terminal.
Airport director Flt. Lt. Akash Deep said that with additional of this facility Cargo Terminal, Varanasi can play a major role in the development of this area. “We expect that maximum agencies/ exporters use this facility for overall success,” he said adding that with this cold storage facility a long pending demand of farmers has been met.
In various forums, exporter and agriculture producers had raised the demand for cold storage so that export of vegetable and other perishable items from Varanasi can be started. This is bound to give boost in business for exports, farmers, airlines. The cold storage has a scope for capacity enhancement as per the demand. The facility will be operated between 2°C to 8°C and has storage area of 25sqm.
He said that work was delayed due to pandemic but with concerted effort, the facility has been created within three months.