Patna, Jan. 11: The BJP has demanded the Centre develop a mega food park in Bihar and set up National Institute of Food Technology and Food Processing Entrepreneurship Management institute immediately.

Patna University teacher and senior BJP leader Ranvir Nandan said if the horticulture data of six districts of Bihar — Muzaffarpur, Supaul, Saharsa, Madhepura, Purnea and Begusarai — was examined, it would be seen that they are geographically ideal for the venture.

Nandan said these six districts produced 5,08,740 tonnes of mango, 2,73,250 tonnes of banana, 53,679 tonnes of litchi, 23,901 tonnes of papaya, 67,689 tonnes of guava, 1,19,645 tonnes of cauliflower apart from a huge quantity of tomato, brinjal, onion, potato and other vegetables. He said the wastage of these fruits in these six districts was quite high, up to 25 per cent in some cases and it was estimated that every year, horticultural produce worth over Rs 181 crore is wasted in Bihar. He said he was quoting figures from the socio-economic research unit of the Planning Commission.

Nandan said the wastage figure in the report pertained just to the six districts and if the wastage of fruits and vegetables in the entire state were taken into account, the figure would cross Rs 250 crore every year. He added the Prime Minister was chairman of the Planning Commission and had the UPA government been sensitive towards the needs of Bihar, a special package would have been offered to stop the loss of horticultural produce.

Taking a dig at the Union food processing department minister Subodh Kant Sahay, the BJP said instead of Bihar, Haryana has been selected for establishing National Institute of Food Technology and Entrepreneurship Development. The BJP leader demanded special incentives from the Centre for constructing cold storages and granting loans to farmers by nationalised banks. He also appealed to the chief minister to start agriculture studies in schools.