Agartala, June 8 (IANS) With a view to strengthening agricultural advisory services, farmer outreach, and grievance redressal mechanisms, a dedicated Kisan Helpline Centre (KHC) was launched on Sunday to serve farmers in Tripura, Mizoram, and Meghalaya.

The Kisan Helpline Centre has been established at the State Horticulture Research Centre in Nagicherra, West Tripura, to ensure improved accessibility of expert agricultural guidance and timely support services for farmers in the three Northeastern states.

Inaugurating the KHC, Tripura Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Ratan Lal Nath said the Kisan Call Centre (KCC) was originally launched by the Union government in 2004 to provide farmers with timely access to agricultural information and expert advisory services through a toll-free helpline.

He added that in 2026, the initiative was renamed the Kisan Helpline Centre (KHC) to better reflect its expanded mandate, which now includes agricultural advisory services, farmer outreach programmes, and structured grievance redressal support.

The Minister informed that farmers can access the services of the KHC through the toll-free number 1800-180-1551, ensuring easy and direct connectivity with agricultural experts. He further stated that the Kisan Helpline network operates through 22 centres across the country, covering all the states and Union Territories.

The operations of the KHC are being managed nationwide under the guidance of the Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare of the Union government.

According to the Minister, the Agartala centre will serve the states of Tripura, Mizoram, and Meghalaya, and will function from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. on all seven days of the week, including Sundays and public holidays, to ensure uninterrupted support to farmers.

The Minister further explained that the Centre follows a structured grievance redressal mechanism to ensure the timely resolution of farmers’ issues. He said grievances are first reviewed by the KHC Supervisor. Cases requiring further intervention are then escalated to the concerned Section Officer, Grievance Officer, or Under Secretary of the Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare for appropriate action.

Once resolved, the cases are routed back to the KHC for farmer feedback and final closure, ensuring transparency and accountability in the grievance redressal process.

The Centre is also supported by a robust call management and analytics system. Call Data Records (CDRs) are maintained for all completed calls, including details such as call identification, duration, status, and timestamps, enabling systematic monitoring and evaluation of services.

Through its dedicated workforce and technology-enabled platform, the KHC Agartala is expected to serve as an effective bridge between farmers, agricultural experts, and the Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, the Minister added.

–IANS

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