The safety vault

Says Puneet Mehndiratta, deputy general manager of Adani Agri, 8220;Silos are the futuristic change in storage systems of food grains the world over. The basic idea is that here we have a capacity to store two lakh meteoric tons of wheat for nearly five years. This capacity is huge keeping in mind the fact that in the US and elsewhere, the maximum capacity of silos is about 50,000 metric tonne.8221;

Farmers are warming up to this concept as well. Says Kushetra Singh, a farmer, 8220;I was so impressed by the system here that I motivated ten more farmers from my village to come and sell their produce here. It reduces our headache. We do not have to unload our produce on the ground, clean it and then pack it in bags. Here the entire trolley is weighed as one unit.8221;

Others are equally upbeat. Director Agriculture Punjab B. S. Sidhu says, 8220;Silos are the future in food storage. The state government is pushing for two more such projects in Punjab alone, help for which we are seeking from the World Bank.8221;

Dr P. S. Rangi, consultant, Punjab Farmers Commission says, 8220;Silos play a very important part in food security. We can store our surplus grain here and keep replenishing the stock every five years.8221;