PANAJI
The Department of Agriculture is building four fruit-ripening chambers which will be ready and put to use before the Ganesh Chathurti festival, according to Director Sandeep Fol Desai.
"Consumers will get assured chemical-free fruits before Chaturthi," Fol Desai said.
The development gains significance against the backdrop of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) teams constantly raiding godowns and confiscating large quantities of fruit allegedly ripened using illegal chemical ripening agents.
Fol Desai said the department overlooks the Goa Agricultural Produce and Marketing Boards in each district.
"The onus is therefore on us to provide fruit ripening facilities to the traders and producers to ensure quality fruit for consumers,” Fol Desai said.
He said, four chambers are coming up in the yard at Mapusa, each with a capacity to ripen 15 tonnes of bananas daily.
In North Goa, most of the bananas are ripened at the Mapusa yard and around 7-8 tonnes of bananas come into the yard daily, he said.
"In festival season like Chaturthi, Diwali and Dussehra, the quantum increases to 15-16 tonnes," he added.
