Solar cold stores lying defunct in Kendrapara, farmers in distress

All the eight solar cold store projects in Kendrapara have been lying defunct in Odisha for the last two years causing severe inconvenience for the farmers in the district.

As per the allegations by several farmers, the projects have become a farce as the infrastructure and machines of those cold stores worth crores of rupees have been gathering dust.

Following the establishment of the cold storage projects, the farmers in the region were hopeful for getting rid of distress sales of their produce. However, the prevailing situation has left them frustrated. Meanwhile, the women Self Help Groups who were given the responsibilities to run the projects have been left in the lurch.

As per reports, as many as eight solar cold store projects were set up in 2021-22 to cater to the requirement of the farmers in as many as nine blocks of the district. The then Odisha government had given the responsibility for the running of the projects to some women Self Help Groups. The members of the SHGs had taken some loans with the hope that they will get employment by providing the cold store facilities to the local farmers.

However, the SHG members were disappointed after all the cold stores became defunct due to some unknown reasons and nobody has any clue about it. With around Rs 20 lakh expenditure on each cold store, a total amount of Rs 2 crore was spent on the projects. However, it seems that the whole amount has gone down the drain.

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“Huge amount of vegetables are produced in our area. However, we don’t have any cold storage facilities to preserve the produce. The solar cold stores have been lying defunct due to lack of proper maintenance,” said Narendra Mallick, a farmer from Chandanpur.

“We have suffered losses as the solar cold stores are not functioning and we are not able to provide storage facilities to the local farmers,” rued an SHG member.

As per sources, more than 20,000 farmers grow potatoes in the district. Apart from potatoes, they also grow many other vegetables in different blocks. However, the farmers often have to face distress sale as they don’t have any facilities in their area to preserve their produce.

As per some local residents, the solar cold store projects have become defunct due to a lack of proper maintenance.

“Farmers are suffering from distress sale as the solar cold storage facilities in our area have been lying defunct,” said Nirod Kumar Raut, a local resident.

In response, Kendrapara Collector Smruti Ranjan Pradhan said that steps will be taken to revive the solar cold stores soon.

“I have formed a three-member committee and they have been directed to submit a report about the condition of the solar cold stores after visiting the places. I am hopeful that I will receive the report by December 1 and take necessary steps accordingly,” said Pradhan.