A woman buys vegetables at an Udyan Fresh outlet in Bhubaneswar. Telegraph picture

Bhubaneswar, April 15: The directorate of horticulture plans to come up with another 24 Udyan Fresh outlets in the city. The city has so far got 15 such outlets, which aim to provide vegetables at an affordable price.

An official in the horticulture directorate said the public response towards these outlets had so far been satisfactory, which was one of the reasons why they planned to have 40 such outlets in Bhubaneswar only.

“We have sought land from the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation for setting up the Udyan Fresh outlets, while we have already got land to set up such outlets in Rourkela, Sambalpur and Berhampur,” said an official in the directorate.

The outlets, which have been set up in public-private partnership mode, are all air-conditioned to ensure that the green vegetables remain fresh. Surendra Agritech Private Ltd has been roped in as the private partner for putting up the 24 outlets.

In March, deputy chairman of Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia had visited an Udyan Fresh outlet and said that other states should also plan for such outlets following the Odisha example. The city residents also demanded for more such stores in the city.

“If other multinational companies can sell vegetables in stores, there is no reason why consumers would not buy vegetables from Udyan Fresh outlets. The authorities must ensure that the vegetables are being sold at affordable price as compared to other vegetable stores,” said Bikash Panda, a city resident.

Bhubaneswar requires about 380 metric tonnes of vegetables every day. But, locally-grown vegetables manage to fulfil only around 30 per cent of the daily requirements. Though the city depends on adjoining areas of Balakati, Nayagada, Balianta, Barang and Kakatpur for fresh vegetables, the gap in demand and supply leads to import from neighbouring states of Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand.

In November last year, the directorate had launched an online platform for home delivery of vegetables in association with Veggiekart Marketing Private Limited. However, the online portal has received only lukewarm response.

“The directorate needs to take up massive campaigning drives to make residents aware regarding the Udyan Fresh kiosks and other initiatives,” said Netajee Abhinandan, a teacher and a city resident.