Proper mango preservation facilities in N-dists needed
Thursday, 11 June 2009
Our Correspondent
SIRAJGANJ, June 10: About 95,000 tonnes of mangoes, worth 250m (25 crore) perish every year in the northern districts of Pabna, Bogra, Natore and Sirajganj in absence of proper preservation facilities, sources said.
Almost 22,000 tonnes of mangoes are consumed and about 55,000 tonnes damaged due to natural calamities.
Some owners of mango orchards said they could not earn to their expectation, as they had to sell the orchards during the budding stage at meagre price.
Situation turns nightmarish as a huge quantity of mangoes is also damaged every year due to absence of proper preservation and communication facilities.
Mangoes should be consumed within seven days of plucking from the trees.
Due to backward communication system, the plucked fruits can not be transported quickly to distant places with preservation facilities.
In this situation, the mango producers and traders of the region demanded to solve the mango preservation problem.
Brisk business of
herbal medicine
Traders of herbal medicines are doing brisk business in the rural areas of the district by taking advantage of ignorance and lack of awareness the people there.
Especially the illiterate people of the district purchase the herbal medicines from the vendors in local markets. The shrewd vendors draw the attention of the common people in the local markets and lure them to buy their medicines, tablets and ointments. After some time they leave the bazaars quietly and go to other distant places.
Blacksmiths facing
hardship
Blacksmiths in Sirajganj district have been facing hardships' for a long time due to various problems including price hike of raw materials and lack of patronisation, shortage of fuel and coal.
Besides, they do not get fair price of their products for want of marketing facilities, rather, they are forced to sell their goods at prices less than the production cost.
Blacksmiths of different areas of the district said there had been 1500 blacksmith family in nine upazilas of the district only a couple of year's back.
But, now the number has come down to around 750.
Many of them have already given up their ancestral profession and taken up new ones only for survival and the rest are also thinking of taking up new jobs.
The blacksmiths said they had no scope for getting bank loans though the complex process to run their business.
SIRAJGANJ, June 10: About 95,000 tonnes of mangoes, worth 250m (25 crore) perish every year in the northern districts of Pabna, Bogra, Natore and Sirajganj in absence of proper preservation facilities, sources said.
Almost 22,000 tonnes of mangoes are consumed and about 55,000 tonnes damaged due to natural calamities.
Some owners of mango orchards said they could not earn to their expectation, as they had to sell the orchards during the budding stage at meagre price.
Situation turns nightmarish as a huge quantity of mangoes is also damaged every year due to absence of proper preservation and communication facilities.
Mangoes should be consumed within seven days of plucking from the trees.
Due to backward communication system, the plucked fruits can not be transported quickly to distant places with preservation facilities.
In this situation, the mango producers and traders of the region demanded to solve the mango preservation problem.
Brisk business of
herbal medicine
Traders of herbal medicines are doing brisk business in the rural areas of the district by taking advantage of ignorance and lack of awareness the people there.
Especially the illiterate people of the district purchase the herbal medicines from the vendors in local markets. The shrewd vendors draw the attention of the common people in the local markets and lure them to buy their medicines, tablets and ointments. After some time they leave the bazaars quietly and go to other distant places.
Blacksmiths facing
hardship
Blacksmiths in Sirajganj district have been facing hardships' for a long time due to various problems including price hike of raw materials and lack of patronisation, shortage of fuel and coal.
Besides, they do not get fair price of their products for want of marketing facilities, rather, they are forced to sell their goods at prices less than the production cost.
Blacksmiths of different areas of the district said there had been 1500 blacksmith family in nine upazilas of the district only a couple of year's back.
But, now the number has come down to around 750.
Many of them have already given up their ancestral profession and taken up new ones only for survival and the rest are also thinking of taking up new jobs.
The blacksmiths said they had no scope for getting bank loans though the complex process to run their business.