BHUBANESWAR: Hundreds of potato farmers from Puri and Khurda districts are facing a severe financial crisis after nearly 3,000 quintal of potatoes, including seeds reserved for the next cropping season, rotted in a private cold storage at Jalarpur under Balipatna block of Khurda district.
The affected farmers have accused the management of Pioneer Holon Agroecology Pvt Ltd, which runs the cold storage of negligence, alleging that its chilling machinery developed a fault in July but the owner failed to inform them in time, resulting in the destruction of their stored produce.
According to a grievance petition submitted by farmer representatives to assistant horticulture officer, Nimapara, Subhashree Kar, around 1,500 farmers had deposited nearly 3,000 quintal of potatoes at the facility. They had reportedly paid `110 for every 50 kg bag as storage charges.
The affected farmers belong to several villages and panchayats, including Kothakusanga, Uchhupur, Balanga, Sainso, Haripur, Gopinathpur and adjoining areas of Nimapara block in Puri district, besides neighbouring areas of Khurda and Cuttack.
The farmers have alleged that instead of properly preserving their produce, the cold storage owner gave priority to mushroom cultivation inside the facility, compromising the storage of potatoes.
The loss of potato seeds has added to their distress as many farmers were depending on the stored stock for cultivation during the upcoming rabi season. Several farmers had reportedly borrowed money from cooperative societies and private lenders to finance potato cultivation.
Seeking government’s intervention, farmers’ representative Dillip Kumar Baral has demanded an impartial inquiry into the incident, compensation for their losses and stringent action against the cold storage management, including cancellation of its licence.
They have urged the Horticulture department and the district administration to conduct an on-the-spot inspection to ascertain the circumstances leading to the destruction of the potatoes and verify whether the facility was being used for purposes other than proper storage.
The farmers have warned of a protest in front of the cold storage if the authorities failed to take immediate action.
Kar said she had forwarded the case to the deputy director of Horticulture, Sakhigopal, for onward transmission to the director, Horticulture for appropriate action since the private cold storage is coming under the jurisdiction of Khurda district.
