Bhubaneswar, Dec. 2: Residents will shortly have access to fresh and cheap vegetables, fruits and flowers as the government has decided to set up Odisha haat.

The new mart will come up near the biggest and oldest daily wholesale market in the city in Unit-I.

Agriculture minister Pradeep Maharathy said that 2.5 acres had been earmarked for the purpose near Unit-I and Unit-II markets.

"With no brokers or middlemen involved, the sellers will be able to deal with the customers directly and this would result in cheaper prices," the minister told in the Assembly today.

"Horticultural crops, including fruits, vegetables, spices and flowers, are being grown over 13.78 lakh hectares in the state. We are providing a platform to the farmers by setting up this market in the city," he said.

An official in the horticulture directorate said: "The haat will also provide low-cost short-stay facility for the farmers, who will come to the city to sell their produce."

The market would be managed by the Dhenkanal Fruits and Vegetables Marketing Company Limited, a firm floated by the state government under the Companies Act 1956.

"The company, which was earlier set up for Dhenkanal and 12 other districts, will cater to all the districts. So far, more than 15,000 farmers have been registered under the company," said an official in the horticulture directorate.

The company will procure horticulture produce from the farmers directly and one of their representatives will sell them at the proposed market. In the absence of a government facility, the company has been selling the products to Udyan Fresh outlets and other establishments.

Though the city requires nearly 380 metric tonnes of vegetables everyday, local supply fulfils only around 30 per cent of the need. The city depends on adjoining areas of Balakati, Nayagarh, Balianta, Barang and Kakatpur for vegetables. The gap between demand and supply leads to import of vegetables from neighbouring states of Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand.

"We are happy that we will get fresh vegetables, fruits and even flowers at the proposed haat and that too at cheaper rates," said Nandita Mishra, a homemaker.

Though farmers on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar, Keonjhar, Boudh, Ganjam cultivate flowers, the bulk of the city's requirement is still met by and large by supplies from neighbouring Bengal. The exotic varieties of orchids and liliums are procured from Bangalore. Officials in the horticulture directorate said that flowers worth Rs 2 lakh are sold in the city every day.

"We are hopeful that the proposed haat will cater to the need of the residents and at the same time it will help the farmers earn a little more money," said an official.