Flood-hit 6 quality testing labs in J&K to reopen by March

NEW DELHI: The Jammu and Kashmir government plans to reopen by March the six quality control testing labs that were damaged during last year's floods in the state.

The six labs, located in Srinagar, check quality of seeds, fertiliser, pesticide and soil for the benefit of farmers.

"We have got funds from the Union Agriculture Ministry to rebuild the labs. We are in the process and the labs should be reopened by March this year," a state Agriculture Department official Dildar Ahmed Shah told PTI.

The Centre has so far released Rs 1.19 crore for this purpose, while the state government had Rs 4 crore to reconstruct the labs, said the official, who was here to seek release of additional funds.

Barring the physical structure, all lab equipments, furniture, computers and even data files were washed away in floods.

The state government is making all efforts to rebuild these labs at the earliest for the benefit of farmers, the official added.