CUTTACK: Around five months have passed, but the Adishakti Rural Industrial Park established at Khentala in Nischintakoili’s Isani Brahmapur gram panchayat as an automated agarbatti (incense stick) production unit is yet to become operational. The reason: lack of electricity connection.
Sources said around five community-based organisations (CBOs) are currently operational in Isani Brahmapur GP where over 500 women are engaged in making incense sticks.
In 2009, state-run Odisha Rural Development and Marketing Society (ORMAS) joined hands with ITC Ltd to facilitate supply of hand-rolled incense sticks through community-based organisations. The ITC also set up a packaging and value-addition centre at Jagatpur in Cuttack for the purpose.
However, with advancement of technology, the agarbatti production process evolved from hand-rolled to pedal machines and eventually to automated ones. Responding to ITC’s growing procurement needs and recognising the strength of five CBOs engaged in incense sticks production in the region, the Cuttack administration decided to turn the defunct Balarampur UP School at Khentala into a rural industrial park by setting up automated incense stick production unit.
Renovation of the school was taken up in July 2025 and the Adishakti Rural Industrial Park was set up at a cost of Rs 1.5 crore. It was inaugurated on June 8 this year.
Adishakti Gramin Shilpa Udyog president Manasi Ojha said they are facing problems in blending and drying the incense sticks manually as a result of which it is becoming difficult for them to fulfil the orders placed by ITC.
“Besides, even the renovation work is of substandard quality as water seeps through the roof of the building.
There is also no boundary wall for which we have temporarily enclosed the area with bamboo poles and cloth fabric,” she said. Ojha alleged that she had been apprising the matter to the authorities concerned for the last three months but no steps have been taken.
Effort to elicit response from chief development officer-cum-executive officer, zilla parisad Prasant Kumar Nayak proved futile. However, joint CEO, ORMAS, Allaka Uma Mahesh said he would take steps to ensure electricity connection was provided to the unit soon.
