A vehicle carrying cheese to a market in Cuttack. Picture by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, Nov. 28: The municipal corporation has decided to set up a dedicated wholesale market in the city for milk products such as cottage cheese (chenna) and Indian cheese (paneer).

Being a major trading centre for milk products, those in the business had submitted a proposal to the Cuttack Municipal Corporation to set up a wholesale mandi.

An official said that the daily transaction of chenna and paneer in the city was around Rs 2 crore.

The Cuttack District Milk Products Businessmen Association has said in its proposal that apart from meeting the city’s demand, paneer is also supplied to Bhadrak, Dhenkanal, Rourkela and entire west Odisha from here.

Mayor Saumendra Ghose told The Telegraph today that the municipal council had already approved the proposal to develop infrastructure for a wholesale mandi for milk products in public private partnership (PPP) mode.

“Land for the project has been identified at Khannagar. Demarcation of the land and blue print for the proposed mandi is under process,” Ghose said.

At present producers from Nimapada, Kakatpur, Niali, Adaspur, Kantapada, Naugaon, Salepur, Machagaon and Bayalish Mauza come to Cuttack everyday for supplying the milk products.

In the absence of basic facilities they are forced to transact on the roadside at OMP Square and Link Road.

“A dedicated market will make it easier for the suppliers to carry on wholesale trading. Besides, it will pave the way for an organised milk products business in the city,” corporation’s standing committee (planning) member Durga Charan Sahoo said.

Association secretary Pradeep Behera said around 500 producers come to Cuttack daily with around 60 tonnes of paneer and 50 tonnes of chenna. But without an exclusive market, the business continues to be splintered at a couple of places.