The cold storages built in the district are currently empty. Five cold storages in the district, which are made for storing agricultural materials, have been locked.
Spiders have set up a web in the store room where the product is to be stored . Four years ago, the building of "Sheet Bhandar" was completed in Malarani rural municipality-5 Bangi. Ward President Tilak Mishra said that 80 lakh rupees have been invested so far in building construction, installation of moisture equipment, installation of electricity transformer. Although the building has been built, the work of installing equipment and electricity has not yet been completed.
"The cold storage is now empty, this year we have planted 70 quintals of potatoes in Bangi under the potato pocket area program," he said, "we are planning to keep them for testing after the potatoes are produced." We will keep oranges after potatoes.' He also said that it will be given to a cooperative or group to operate the store.
He says that even though the building has been built, the work of connecting the equipment has not been completed and it is empty as there is no product to store in the store . The ward has a plan to keep potatoes after they are produced by March. The locals of Bangi are buying and eating Indian potatoes from Sandhikhark market. Even if infrastructure is built in the village, there is not enough production to keep it. Without study, the rural municipality had built a cold store with a capacity of one hundred tons.
Ratnamare of Ward 6 of Malarani, Khandah and Dandakteri of Ward 3 and 10-10 ton capacity buildings have been constructed. There is no moisture center equipment installed here. Only a building has been constructed in the name of cold storage. Which is stuck . Buildings built for the purpose of storing local products and selling them during off-season have not been completed nor are there enough products to store them.
Oranges are produced in Khandah and Hanspur. But according to the capacity, there is not enough production to be kept in the cold storage . Since
, Sandhikhark municipality has started construction with the help of the federal government, and the cold store is still stalled. Since the window is not kept up to the door, it has become a habitat for animals at night. Four years ago, the municipality started construction of a building with an investment of 74.45 million by the federal government for the construction of a cold store with a capacity of 1,500 tons to store fruits and food. In which 50 shares belong to the municipality. Dilip KC, the planning officer of the municipality informed that this year, the association has allocated 23 million and the city has allocated 15 million. Even after four years, the work is still not completed.
Similarly, oranges were kept for three years at Shivshakti Coldstore located in Panini Rural Municipality-2 Pokharathok. But the Rakhi oranges were wasted there. Last year, out of 90 metric tons kept in stores, 60 metric tons of orange seeds got rotted due to rust. This year, the farmers did not keep oranges .
There was a 25 percent share of the Shivshakti Mixed Farmers Group of orange farmers and an investment of 25 million by the Lumbini State Government for the construction of cold storage. But now there is also a lock here . Revatiraj Poudel, the president of Shivshakti Group, who was entrusted with the operation, said that after the oranges rotted for three years, the farmers decided not to keep oranges until another arrangement was made.
"The store is now empty," said Chandrakant Poudel, president of Ward 2 Pokharathok, "The technicians of the Lumbini Pradesh Agricultural Development Directorate came and trained and placed oranges in the store last year." Now the directorate is preparing to buy and keep the orange itself, but finally backed off.'
Last year, according to the agricultural scientist, he said that even if he stored it, it was not successful. After the farmers did not keep it, Lumbini Province Agricultural Development Directorate Butwal prepared to buy and keep it themselves. Vivek Pant, senior agricultural extension officer of the directorate, said that the decision will be taken after consultation with experts. There is no product to store food items and vegetables other than oranges in the warehouse which has a capacity of 300 metric tons.
