Summer Internship Project ARIAS Society

Study Report on selected Warehouses of Assam

1. Introduction:

ASWC (Assam State Warehousing Corporation) is the nodal state agency under the Government of Assam
for the development and regulation of warehouses.

The current study was undertaken with an aim to understand the operational history, Agri. Business
contours, critical gaps, latent opportunities to help structure the way-forward for market developmental
strategies in the proposed Agri-Horti Markets under APART. Based on the assigned deliverables for this
assignment, the following core aspects were covered under the study: commodity arrivals (by season,
value and volume), catchment area, destinations of the transacted commodities, prevailing prices (max,
min and modal), market operations, market infrastructure and amenities, ownership, market functionaries
along with licensing system, profile of buyers, sellers and commission agents, buying and selling volumes,
lot sizes, complying laws (APMC Act/ Panchayat Act/ Municipal Act etc.), collections, turnover,
development works taken up in the last five years, future development plans (apart from APART), quality
control aspects, waste management, marketing malpractices (if any prevalent), access to road, power,
internet, ATM, bank branch and other utilities, linkages to warehouses, cold stores and other markets in
selected agricultural markets.

The current study was undertaken to assess the prioritized ASWC Warehouses, Cold Chain Facilities
and other functionally effective Agril. based logistics in Assam on their volume, value & operational
attributes w.s.r.t to APART prioritized district locations. The survey covered the year of
establishment, commodity arrivals (names, value & volume), revenue earnings, catchment area,
profile of major users (farmers/ traders/ corporates), general conditions (cleanliness, hygiene,
maintenance works carried out), fumigation, disinfection, stacking plan, staff availability along with
their profile vis-à-vis WDRA norms, vacancy status, training and capacity building of staff, internet
connectivity, testing facilities, other features such as system of electronic Negotiable Warehouse
Receipts (eNWRs), climate resilient construction features existing and exploring opportunities to
introduce such new features by way of renovation, ventilation, roofing, drainage, arrival-dispatch
bays, compound/boundary walls, entry/exit points, weighing facilities (weigh bridge, last calibration
date, beam balances/ platform balances & last calibration date), future development plans, overall
process management, current level of automation of operations and opportunities to improve the
same, warehouse office, standards of warehouse units (BIS or otherwise), insurance status (against
fire, flood, theft, riots, strike or other such unforeseen events), night lighting, market, industry and
bank linkages.

Out of 33 ASWC warehouses in 8 project districts, study was being conducted in 6 warehouses in the
districts of Kamrup, Darrang, Nagaon and Hojai. Study duration of 6 days was dedicated for primary data
collection from Warehouse Manager through interview and questionnaire method.

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Most of the warehouses are established in between 1960 to 1980. Warehouses of Maidamgaon and
Paschim Boragaon are present in strategic location in the outskirts of Guwahati City. 83% of the
warehouses are in proximity of 5 Km from the highways for easy accessibility through roads whereas
Rangia centre is present remotely from highway. In all the warehouses there is constant power supply and
telephone connectivity. Most of the warehouses are owned by ASWC, no hired or rented units are there
but in Paschim Boragaon Centre of the total 5 units, 3 units are owned by ASWC, 1 unit is a private unit on
hire & 1 hired from ARTFED (Assam Apex Weavers & Artisans Co-operative Federation Ltd.). Paschim
Boragaon and Rangia Centre are in close vicinity of rack point from where railways can also be used as an
effective mode of transportation.

All the warehouses are present nearby wholesale or retail agriculture market for good market access for
the beneficiaries. Only in Hojai Centre and Kharupetia Centre full space is utilized by agricultural
commodities out of the total capacity utilization. In case of Rangia centre the Godowns are completely
damaged that is why only fertilizers are stored there presently. In almost all the cases one or more units
are fully damaged which can’t be utilized. In Case of Kharupetia Centre the largest unit is destroyed
because of fire and also in case of Hojai Centre because of lack of hazard prevention techniques. Mostly
traders and farmers prefer to store commodity in private warehouse because of developed infrastructure,
hygiene and other facilities.

2.

Location Total No. of Total Primary Stock Secondary Optional

Capacity Units Capacity Commodity Stock Stock
(MT) Utilized Commodity Commodity
(MT)
ASWC, 14777 9 11456 Sugar, Pulses, Full capacity utilization by
Maidamgaon Mustard oil, the primary stock
Centre, P.S- Rice, Poultry
Basistha, P.O- Feed, Paper
Khanapara
Guwahati- 22

ASWC, Paschim 8777 5 7948 Print reel , Rice, Vegetable

Boragaon Machinery, Maize, Seeds,
Centre, P.S- Sugar, Paddy, Pulses Sanitary
Boragaon, P.O- Turmeric and items, Pea,
Gorchuk, Spices, Poultry Gram
Guwahati-33 feed, Cement,
Fertilizers
ASWC, Rangia 5950 3 2740 Fertilizers Full capacity utilization by
Centre the primary stock

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ASWC, 7560 7 4660 Paddy Jute

Kharupetia Maize
Centre Pulses
Arecanut
Mustard
Seed
ASWC Hojai 7525 9 6920 Jaggary Jute Paddy
Main Road, Mustard Wheat
Adarsh Bazaar, Seeds
Hojai Sesame
Turmeric
ASWC, 13118 7 10114 Sesame, Salt, Full capacity utilization by
Warehouse; Turmeric, the primary stock
Haiborgaon, Mustard seed,
Nagaon Black gram,
Oil cake Rice
Wheat
Fertilizers
Total Capacity Utilised Capacity
14777
13118
11456
10114
8777
7948 7525
6960 6920
5950
4660
2740

Maidamgaon P. Boragaon Rangia Kharupetia Hojai Nagaon

Graph 1: Showing the Total Space and Capacity Utilization for Different Warehouse

o The average capacity of the warehouses are 9518 MT, with maximum capacity is of Maidamgaon
Centre and minimum capacity is of Rangia centre.
o Out of 9518 MT average total capacity only 7307 MT is averagely utilized for storage of
commodities which is 76% of the total capacity due to damaged infrastructural facilities like
decapitated roof and walls, lack of proper ventilation, illumination etc.
o In 41% of the warehouses mostly agricultural produces are stored which is generally season specific
and bought by traders or farmers from that specific region.

The main reason for less utilization of space by agricultural commodities is the damaged conditions of
warehouses which are not suitable for storing food grains and other agricultural products.

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3. Infrastructure facility:

 External Infrastructure:
The approach roads in all the warehouses are concrete, motorable and easily accessible but roads
within the perimeter of the unit are however not metaled and maintenance is poor. Maidamgaon
Centre has a boundary wall and Nagaon Centre has boundary wall for half of its area else all other
warehouses lack well demarcated boundary wall. There lies ample space within the premises of
every warehouse for facilitating efficient vehicular traffic and goods handling facilities but it is not
utilized effectively because of lack of internal roads. There is no weigh-bridge facility in the premises
except in Nagaon Centre. Loading and unloading is being done manually. Regarding security
measures, office night guards have been appointed. There is no facility for night lamps or CCTV
camera.
 Internal Infrastructure:
All the warehouses are equipped with power supply but illumination facility is not up to the mark.
Generally net ventilation (Roof and Base Ventilators) is used without use of any scientific method
for air exchange .Toilet facility is mostly present only for the office staffs or not present at all in
majority of cases. There is no laboratory and internet facility in any of the warehouse. First Aid kit
and Fire extinguisher is available in some of the warehouse for Hazard Prevention.

4. Warehousing Operations:

 Material Handling: Material handling is done manually in all the warehouses and no automated
machines such as Fork lifts and conveyer belts etc. are used. Scientific tools like humidity regulator,
exhaust fans etc. are absent in every warehouses. The premises inside the warehouses have
sufficient open ground for material handling operations, but the floor is earthen and prone to mud
& slush.

 Staking Operations: The stacking operations are erratic and unorganized (staking plan is
occasionally followed) in almost all the warehouses. Space utilization (both horizontal & vertical) is
done on a demand driven basis, subjected to maximization of capacity utilization. The availability of
proper stacking racks is limited either wooden racks are absent or scarcely present.

 Weighment Operations: Most of the Warehouses lacks weigh bridge facility within the premises for
weighing the arrivals except Nagaon Centre. Weighment facility for daily operations inside the
warehouse was observed to be absent and mostly weighing scales are used. It was reported that for
‘need based’ weighment purpose, a weight & balance unit was outsourced from a private entity in
Hojai Centre. Paschim Boragaon Centre has Digital Balance but not calibrated every year.

 Documentation: Manual Registers are used for recording stocks. Proper book keeping is done once
the produce arrives into the warehouse. Information such as Name and address of depositor,
Quantity, Value, Opening stock date and Closing stock date are recorded.

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 Insurance: in 66% of the warehouses insurance facility against fire & theft for both Warehouse &
commodities stored is done by New India Assurance co. Ltd, Guwahati is there on the other hand in
case of Maidamgaon Centre and Kharupetia Centre insurance is provided only for the stored
commodities but not for the warehouse.

 Instrumentation: Almost the entire operations are manual and without any technological
interventions in all the warehouses.

 Collaterals: 50% of warehouses don’t have tie up with any of the commercial banks but Hojai
Centre has tie up with SBI and IDBI bank, Kharupetia centre has tie up with IDBI bank and Paschim
Boragaon has tie up with IDBI, SBI, Canara Bank and Assam Gramin Vikash Bank for extending
Farmer’s loan. Even though 3 warehouses have tie up with bank but no Negotiable Warehouse
Receipt is being provided in any case.

 Hygiene and Sanitation: In all the cases cleaning is done in need based basis. Zinc Phosphate is used
for killing Rats. Fumigation and disinfection is done based on the need and the chemicals used are
Selfos, Malathion, and Novan. It was informed that usage of gloves & masks are made mandatory
during fumigation & disinfection practices in every single warehouse.

 Category of Depositors: Majorly beneficiaries can be classified into four types which are:
 Farmers: Mostly farmers belong to the nearby places close to the warehouse. In Kharupetia
Centre, Hojai Centre and Paschim Boragaon Centre farmers are the major depositors.
 Traders: In almost all the warehouses local traders store the commodity except in Rangia
Centre.
 Corporates: Every single warehouse is used by corporates for storing the commodities for
example Fertilizer Company, Poultry Feed Company, Cement Company, Machinery
Company, TATA Group and Shalimar Pvt. Ltd. Etc.
 Others: Apart from the above mentioned depositors other Government Institution like Food
Corporation of India (FCI) also stores grains in Hojai Centre and Nagaon Centre.

5. Dedicated Agricultural Commodity Operations:

In Kharupetia Centre and Hojai Centre full utilized capacity is used for storing agricultural commodity. In
Maidamgaon Centre and Paschim Boragaon Centre Agricultural as well as non-agricultural commodities are
stored but in Rangia Centre only non-agricultural commodities are stored as damaged infrastructure for
which farmers and traders are unwilling to store agricultural commodities in the warehouse. Mostly
agricultural commodities are stored in seasonal basis by mostly local traders and farmers. Mostly the space

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remains unutilized because of the lack of proper infrastructure like wear and tear in roof and walls,
insufficient illumination and ventilation etc.

Unutilized Space
Space occupied by Agricultural Commodity
Space Utilized by Nonagricultural Commodity

20%
39%

41%

Graph 2: Proportion of Agricultural and Non-agricultural Commodity

6. Conclusion:

Indian economy is an agrarian economy with over 70% of the population engaged in activities related to
agriculture. Considering this fact, there is however disproportionate warehousing facilities for efficient and
safe handling of the agricultural produce. Total warehousing space requirement in India is expected to
grow at a compounded annual growth rate of nine per cent from 919 million sq. ft. in 2014 to 1,439 million
sq. Ft. by 2019, according to Knight and Frank Report. Warehousing operations is a very important aspect
for APART project, as storage is an integral and core aspect of the commodity value chains.

Suggestions:

 Construction of concrete internal roads in the premises will enhance the vehicular traffic and space
can be utilized for proper handling of commodities like loading and unloading.
 Renovating the damaged Godown by repairing the wear and tear in the walls and roof will reduce
the pest & moisture entrance.
 Proper illumination will increase workers’ efficiency, safety and help in checking the pest attack in
stored commodities. Roof light illumination is an energy efficient technique which can be used for
illuminating the warehouse.

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 Proper ventilation helps in maintaining optimum air flow. Cooling fans and exhaust fans can be
installed inside the Godown for entry and exit of air. Air power ventilators vane can be installed on
the top as it works with the help of natural wind, no power supply is required.
 The civil engineering design of the warehouse should be done in such a way so as to utilize
efficiently both vertical and horizontal space.
 Installation of solar panels can reduce dependence on coal based power consumption and can
effectively utilise the roof area of warehouse.
 Accreditation of warehouse by Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA) will
help in issue NWR (Negotiable Warehouse Receipt) which can be of great help to the farmers and
other beneficiaries in extension of loan.
 Installation of weighbridge facility inside the premises of warehouse will help in weighing the
commodities after they reach the warehouse premises.
 Properly demarcated boundary wall can reduce the security issues.
 Provision of basic amenities like drinking water, toilets and restroom will help the labours to
maximise the efficiency of work.
 After development of infrastructure, further development can be done in mechanisation like
conveyer belts and fork lifts etc.
 Maintaining hygiene and taking appropriate phytosanitary measures can increase the usage by
farmers and other value chain players.

Project Report Submitted by IIPMB Interns 16-PGDM-ABPM