Patna, (Bihar Times): A push-cart answer to the
challenge of Reliance Fresh. The news sound somewhat
bizarre. But that is what Kaushlendra, the
IIM-Ahmadabad topper of 2007, has planned. And in this
venture he is being ably supported by his friends and
teachers of his B-school.
This novel push-cart made of fibre is much more easy
to move and can carry 200 kilograms of weight. It has
a weighing machine attached to it. The push-cart is
ice-cooled and vegetables can remain fresh for four to
five days. After an initial encouraging response to a
trial run he had brought 50 such push-carts in Patna.
To woo the customers the push-cart is selling
vegetable at concessional rate.
Kaushlendra’s fascination for the push-cart is
understandable as he comes from Nalanda district,
considered as the vegetable basket of Bihar. He wants
to see Bihar as the leading producer of vegetable as
the state has a lot of potential.
Kaushlendra’s effort was on the line of fibre rickshaw
developed by another B-school graduate, Irfan, from
Begusarai district in Bihar. And like Irfan’s Samman
Foundation he too had floated Kaushalaya Foundation.
The push-cart will be sold under the brand name of
Samriddhi. Reports say that over 250 vegetable farmers
of Patna and Nalanda have tied up with the Kaushalya
Foundation. The Foundation has also tied up with
Agriculture Training and Management Agency to create
awareness about the vegetable marketing in different
districts.
Efforts like this may go a long way to checkmate the
invasion of corporate houses like Reliance Fresh in
the vegetable selling business. Only recently the
Bihar State Women’s Development Corporation (BSWDC)
decided to launch fully air-conditioned “Fresh
Vegetable” outlets in Patna and Nalanda districts.
They would be run exclusively by women.
