Chandigarh, Jul 21 (IANS): Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu has unveiled a series of initiatives to facilitate apple growers and ensure a smooth transportation of the produce amidst devastation to roads after torrential rains and flashfloods.

“The state government is focusing on road clearance in apple-growing areas to facilitate growers and ensure the smooth transportation of their produce, especially after some roads were adversely affected by the monsoon fury,” an official statement quoting the Chief Minister said on Friday.

“The restoration works are being undertaken on a war footing to repair the damaged roads.”

After a meeting with members of the arthiya association here, the Chief Minister said the government has been prioritising the strengthening of the road from Chhaila to Yashwant Nagar via Neri Bridge and a project with an outlay of Rs 70 crore under Central Road and Infrastructure Fund (CRIF) has been submitted.

The primary goal of this project is to alleviate any transportation hindrances faced by the orchardists during the apple season, he said.

The Chief Minister said to enhance post-harvest storage facilities, the government mulls to establish controlled atmosphere (CA) stores in Bhawanagar (Kinnaur), Sandasu (Chirgaon), Anu (Jubbal), Chopal (Shimla), Jabli (Solan), Sundernagar (Mandi), Duttnagar (Rampur Bushehar) and Kharapathar (Shimla).

Moreover, efforts are being made to construct another CA store on the government land at the Kundli border in Delhi.

“The government is also considering establishing a distillery to ensure that apple growers can benefit from their produce. This initiative aims to utilise damaged apples that may not meet the market's standards, but they can be turned into valuable resources and contributing to the growers' income,” he said.

The arthiya association, after the Chief Minister's intervention, has agreed to weigh or purchase apples based on the older system, accommodating the convenience of the growers.