Champai, Oct 15: North Eastern Council (NEC) Secretary Satinder Kumar Bhalla on Thursday inspected several agriculture, processing and infrastructure projects in Mizoram’s Champhai district, urging officials to expedite pending work and ensure the facilities remain operational after inauguration.
Bhalla was accompanied by Horticulture Department Secretary Maria CT Zuali, Champhai Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Aaquib and Senior Research Officer Lalnunsiami.
The delegation visited proposed sites for the Mualkawi Ginger USP Main Processing Hub and Zotlang Ginger Spoke Hub. The facilities are designed for cleaning, grading, slicing, drying and packaging ginger. Bhalla directed officials to speed up pending work to enable processing to begin and interacted with local ginger growers.
At the NEC-funded Passion Fruit Processing Unit, he reviewed the remaining technical work and stressed the need for quality control in juice production. He also directed officials to recruit qualified staff and ensure effective management and continuous operation after the unit is inaugurated.
The delegation subsequently inspected the Champhai Winery at Tlangsam and held discussions with officials of the Champhai Grape Growers’ Society.
Officials said changes in state wine policies had created market challenges, but the winery had significantly benefited local grape farmers. Discussions focused on increasing production from the current 150 cases a day to the facility’s maximum capacity of 600 cases a day.
Bhalla also visited the Sericulture Department’s Oak Tasar Seed Farm, where officials briefed him on silk yarn production. They said Champhai was the only location in Mizoram producing all four varieties of silk—Oak Tasar, Mulberry, Muga and Eri. The NEC secretary stressed the need to secure better market prices for local silk rearers.
The visit concluded at Zokhawthar, where Bhalla reviewed cross-border trade operations with officials of the Land Customs Station.
Located along Mizoram’s eastern border with Myanmar, Champhai is a major producer of ginger, passion fruit and commercial grapes. The district’s agriculture-based economy relies on opportunities to process and market these products, while Zokhawthar serves as an important point for cross-border trade.
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