Imphal, Oct. 4: Chief minister Ibobi Singh today dashed the hopes of Manipur farmers saying the current power scenario would not allow setting up of cold storage facilities to preserve their products.

“Though we are giving priority to improving the power scenario, we have not been able to provide uninterrupted supply,” Ibobi Singh said after distributing subsidised farm machinery and seeds to farmers.

The chief minister’s announcement came after horticulture and soil conservation secretary V. Vumlunmang underlined the need to set up cold storage facilities and refrigerated vehicles for transportation of perishable items.

Though Manipur produces huge quantities of lemon, orange, pineapple and banana, a major portion rots away because of a lack of preservation facilities.

“Manipur is buying Rs 10 crore of power from various power corporations every month. This is not enough to meet the demand. However, we could collect barely Rs 2 crore in bills per month. We are not in a position to set up the cold storages, as these require uninterrupted power supply,” Ibobi Singh said.

The farmers expressed happiness at receiving the subsidised items, but were disappointed at losing out on the cold storage.