Narayansunder Kilambu

Bhaktapur, January 11:

The largest vegetable and fruit market in the country is to be constructed at the banks of the Manohara river of Thimi Municipality, Bhaktapur district. The international standard vegetable market is being constructed on the border of Kathmandu and Bhaktapur districts because Kalimati Vegetable and Fruit Market — which is the only such market in the capital — could not meet the demand of consumers of the Kathmandu valley. The vegetable and fruit market will be constructed on about 200 ropanis of land with the help of Ministry for Agriculture and Cooperatives, Thimi Municipality, Kalimati Fruit and Vegetable Market Development Committee, Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) and INGOs, according to Madyapur Thimi Municipality. Kalimati Vegetable and Fruit Market Development Committee (KVFMDC) has set aside Rs 10,000,000 for the construction of the market, said chairman of KVFMDC, Bishnu Datta Awasthi. It is hoped that the farmers of Bhaktapur, Lalitpur and Kathmandu districts will benefit after the construction of the market. The market will provide facilities like cold storage and packing and also plans to export vegetable and fruits aboard. The government had established 27 vegetable and fruit markets in several places like Pokhara, Kalimati, Birtamod and Dharan.