By IANS,
Lucknow : Uttar Pradesh farmers will now be able to know rates of agriculture commodities in any market in the state on their mobile phones, thanks to a new service launched by the state-run telecom major Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL).
“BSNL has teamed up with the Uttar Pradesh Agricultural Marketing Board (Mandi Parishad) to launch the ‘Mandi on Mobile’ service for the farmers,” BSNL’s state deputy general manager (mobile operations) Mahendra Srivastava told IANS here Saturday.
The service, which has now been launched in selected parts of the state, will cover all 71 districts of the state from next month, he said.
The service would be voice-based. “To know the rates of over 100 commodities including crops, vegetables and other items, the farmers need to dial 0522-1255534 from their BSNL cellular phones and follow the voice command subsequently,” said Srivastava.
The service would immensely benefit the farmers, especially those who used to sell their agriculture produce to middlemen at low prices without knowing the market rates, officials said.