A big cold storage facility is starting in Dantewada, the development of tribal villages will get a new momentum

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

Raipur 17 June 2025: A big initiative is being taken in Dantewada district to keep the produce from farming 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 cold storage, technology like radiation will be used to protect 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. Now the produce will not be wasted, income will increase. The Bastar region produces produce 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 goods. This will help in keeping these things safe for a long time. The durability of the products will increase, wastage will stop and farmers will get higher prices.

What will be there in this facility? The cost of this project is about 25 crore rupees 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 spoil for a long time, 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 tons 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

A revenue of about Rs 8.5 crore is expected to be received from this facility every 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 the areas affected by left wing extremism.

Work will start soon, the market is ready Land has been acquired for this facility and an agreement has also been signed with BRIT, an organization providing radiation technology. The work will take about 24 months to complete, that is, the facility will be fully started in 2 years. The administration has also prepared markets in big cities like Raipur and Visakhapatnam, from where the 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 Dev Sai says 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 for a long time and they will be able to connect directly to the big market. 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 hard work of the people come together, then the village economy can also shine. This model will now become an example for other tribal areas as well, where tribal communities can get both their rights and respect. This project will give a new dimension to the picture of Bastar.