MARKET PLAN GOES BIG
Bhubaneswar, Sept. 8: The state government has decided to ensure availability of all agricultural products under one roof by setting up a vegetable wholesale trading centre and an agriculture mall at Patrapada on the outskirts of the city.
The decision to set up the facility was taken at a meeting on August 11 under the chairmanship of agriculture minister Pradeep Maharathy. Plans are afoot to move the Unit-I market retail shops selling pulses, rice and wheat to Patrapada, 17km away.
The government has approved the Bhubaneswar Development Authority's proposal for both the trading centre and the mall. The directorate of horticulture has been asked to prepare a detailed project report within a month.
The Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) has earmarked 10 acres of land for the wholesale trading centre of which one acre has been allotted for the mall.
The land is at present under the possession of the Odisha Forest Development Corporation and the forest and environment department. The horticulture department will shortly transfer the land to the BDA.
Once the detailed project report is approved and land acquired, the development authority aims to start construction of the wholesale trading centre as well as the agriculture mall immediately. A BDA official said that once the detailed project report is prepared and land is taken over from the Odisha Forest Development Corporation and the forest and environment department, work on the project would start immediately. The work is slated to be complete within six months. The wholesale trading centre will have facilities such as cold storage, roads, banking, post office and other basic amenities.
According to agriculture department sources, facilities for storage of produce of farmers from 30 districts will be developed separately so that the farmers or farmers' organisations can display and sell their products. They will be able to avail the facilities of the cold chain system.
The land allotted to the director of horticulture at Unit-I, Bapuji Nagar, adjacent to quarter No. VII-9 will be used to set up a floriculture, fruits and vegetable market. However, the pulses and riceretail outlets at Unit-I market will be moved to the agriculture mall at Patrapada.
Vegetable traders of Unit-I market said the move to set up the agriculture mall at Patrapada would benefit farmers.
"Farmers will be able to store their produce in the cold storage facility at Patrapada and sell them at Unit-I market. Lack of cold storage has always been a concern for farmers," said Gangadhar Swain, 54, a vegetable seller.
Vegetable farmer Sambhu Behera, 46, said the proposal to set up cold storage facilities at the agriculture mall would benefit all vendors like him.
On the move to set up facilities for sale of vegetables at the Patrapada mall, he said those who have been selling their produce at Unit-I market would not be affected. "Patrapada is on the outskirts, while Unit-I market is in the heart of the city. It helps small farmers to sell their produce at Unit-I," he added.
Odisha Byabasayi Mahasangha general secretary Sudhakar Panda said the move to shift the Unit-I market's retail outlets selling commodities such as rice and pulses, to Patrapada would affect retail traders.
"The Unit-I market is important because of its location. Patrapada is on the outskirts of the city and the shift will affect the traders' interests," he said. More than 20,000 people are directly and indirectly related to retail trade at Unit-I market, he added.
Panda said the state government was yet to discuss the matter with the Odisha Byabasayi Mahasangha. "We will put forward our views during a meeting with the state government officials shortly," he said.
