Lemongrass processing unit lying defunct in Subarnapur for 2 years, livelihood of local residents affected

Though a lemongrass processing unit was set up at Lakarma village in Subarnapur district by the Rural Development Department of the Odisha government in a bid to make the members of the women Self Help Group in the area employed and self-reliant, the unit has been lying defunct for the last two years due to lack of proper management.

A miscreant set the unit on fire causing severe damage to the mechanical equipment. Under such circumstances, the livelihood of the members of the Gramapati Self-Help Group in the village has been severely affected.

As per reports, the lemongrass processing unit was jointly set up by the District Planning and Statistics Department and ORMAS with an expenditure of Rs 15 lakh. It was inaugurated on November 20, 2019, and as many as 30 women under the Gramapati Self Help Group were given the responsibility to run the unit. 

The SHG members were running the unit properly and making a profit of more than Rs 5 lakh per annum until a miscreant set it on fire two years back. As a result, the unit has been lying defunct since then and the SHG members have become unemployed.

“We were earning some money from the unit by working hard in the unit. However, it has been lying defunct for the last two years after a miscreant set fire to it and stole some mechanical equipment. We request the government to provide some assistance so that we will be able to run the unit again,” said Jasmin Nayak, a member of the SHG.

“We have lost our livelihood and as a result facing lots of trouble to make our ends meet,” rued Jyotsna Bibhore, another SHG member.

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Meanwhile, the lemongrass farmers in the area are also facing many problems as the unit has been lying defunct. They were earning Rs 1000 to 1200 per one litre of lemongrass oil. However, they are not able to extract oil anymore after the lemongrass processing unit became defunct.

“We were depending upon the lemongrass processing unit to earn our livelihood. We request the government to make the unit functional again,” said Satyabati Jhankar, a local resident.

In response to the demand by the local people, Subarnapur Collector Anya Dash said, “We are trying to make the unit functional so that the livelihood of the local people can be restored.”