Kalimpong, Dec. 8: The first phase of the principal market yard is expected to be complete and ready to function by the middle of next year.

Once completed, the principal market yard is expected to benefit farmers in fetching good prices for their products by eliminating middlemen. It will also offer other facilities like storage space for various products.

The construction of the principal market yard, initiated by Kalimpong Regulated Market, started in 2002 but due to a poor flow of funds, it is taking longer to complete than envisaged.

?Almost 90 per cent of the work has already been completed for the first phase of the principal market yard. It will take approximately three months to complete the first phase. By the middle of next year it will start functioning. The second phase of construction will begin simultaneously,? said subdivisional officer M.K. Rizal, who is also the secretary of Kalimpong Regulated Market.

?We are getting around Rs 15 to Rs 20 lakh per year from the central government for this project and are also using the funds generated by Kalimpong Regulated Market. Construction work is being done as and when we get the funds. Due to this slow flow of cash we are taking time to complete the project,? he added.

After the first phase of the market is completed, it will boast two auction platforms, 40 shop stalls for wholesalers, one dormitory-cum-godown for farmers and also a farmers? training centre.

?Twenty stalls for the wholesalers have already been completed with 18 more being constructed as part of the first phase. Along with that, a 20-bed dormitory-cum-godown for farmers from far away places in the subdivision is also being built. The first phase will also have a farmers? training centre where we will bring resource people to inform the farmers about the prices of various agricultural products and cultivation techniques. This will help the farmers make better profits,? said Rizal.