Major cold storage facility starting in Dantewada

In Short

*The development of tribal villages will get a new pace

*This project will change the picture of Bastar, farmers will get better prices

Raipur : A big initiative is being taken in Dantewada district to keep the produce from agriculture and forest safe for a long time and to get the farmers the full value of their hard work. For the first time, a modern center is being built by the Central Government and the Chhattisgarh Government in Patarras village of the district where technology like radiation will be used to protect cold storage, food grains and forest produce from spoiling.

This work is being done under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana. This is the first facility of its kind to be built at the government level in the entire country. This project will change the picture of Bastar region .

Now the produce will not be wasted, income will multifold significantly

The Bastar region produces crops like tamarind, mahua, wild mango, indigenous spices and coarse grains like millet. But due to lack of facilities to preserve and sell them properly, 7 to 20 percent of the produce gets spoiled every year. The facility that is being built now will have cold storage, freezer, radiation machine, and big trucks to carry the goods. This will enable these things to be kept safe for a long time. The durability of the products will increase, wastage will stop and farmers will get higher prices.

What will be in this facility

The cost of this project is around Rs 25 crore and it is being run by the District Project Livelihood College Society. This institution has been formed especially to increase employment in tribal areas. This project to be built in Patarras village will have a cold storage with a capacity of 1500 metric tons, frozen storage of 1000 metric tons, 5 small cold rooms, blast freezer to cool fruits quickly, separate chamber for ripening items, radiation machine so that things do not get spoil , 3 big trucks to carry goods and a 70 kilowatt solar system to save electricity.

This facility will prove helpful in keeping more than 10 thousand metric tonnes of produce safe every year and apart from Dantewada, farmers and forest produce collectors of districts like Bastar, Bijapur, Sukma, Kondagaon and Narayanpur will get its benefit. For this project, Rs 10 crore will be spent from the central government scheme and Rs 14.98 crore from the District Mineral Fund.

Till now, most of the work of such projects has been done by private companies, but for the first time the government itself is creating such a facility, which will also strengthen the trust in government schemes in tribal areas.

Employment and income will increase

This facility is expected to generate revenue of about Rs 8.5 crore per year. Its direct benefit will be to farmers, forest produce collectors and local youth, because people will be needed to work here. This will increase employment in rural areas and many people will be able to get employment in their own villages. This initiative will also prove helpful in the direction of permanent employment and peace in areas affected by left wing extremism.

Work will start soon, market is ready

Land has been acquired for this facility and an agreement has also been signed with BRIT, an organization that provides radiation technology. It will take about 24 months to complete the work, i.e. the facility will be fully operational in 2 years. The administration has also prepared markets in big cities like Raipur and Visakhapatnam, from where products made in Bastar will be sent to the country and abroad. The special thing is that a plan is also being made to create a special brand in the name of Bastar, so that the products here have a different identity and can get higher prices.

Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai said that this is not just a project, but the foundation of the future of tribal brothers and sisters. Our forest produce collectors and farmers will now get better prices for their products, the goods will not spoil and will be safe for for a long time and they will be able to connect directly to the big markets

. This entire system will be run by the people of Bastar, for the people of Bastar.

This project is proof that if policy, government resources and people’s hard work come together, then even the village economy can shine. This model will now become an example for other tribal areas, where tribal communities can get both their rights and respect. This project will give a new dimension to the picture of Bastar.