Nayagarh: Members of Shanti Charitable trust Monday intensified their demand for Geographical Indication (GI) tag to the world famous ‘Chenapoda’ of Nayagarh district.
The trust Monday called a press meet and laid out its demands.
“Nayagarh Chenapoda is famous all over Odisha and India. Despite its popularity, the sweet is yet to get its GI tag. So, we demand for its GI tag,” the trust’s president Pramod Patnaik said.
Nayagarh’s Chenapoda is the finest in the world, but because of poor promotion and export facilities, the sweets are not getting the publicity and hype, and not getting marketed properly, he added.
“If the Chenapoda gets GI status, it can be differentiated from similar competing products and will earn a reputation for its indigenous nature,” stressed Patnaik.
He also revealed how a local Sudarshan Sahu of Satpatna village under Daspalla block had made Chenapoda for the first time. Sahu’s Chenapoda was even enjoyed by then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Odisha Chief Minister Biju Patnaik. Both the statesmen have praised the quality of the sweet.
Among others present in the meeting were Sridhar Sahu and Sudarshan’s son Suman Kumar Sahu. They also emphasised that a GI recognition lends a distinct identity to a product as belonging to a particular area with characteristics attributed to that place. The sweet earns a reputation for its long-standing association with the region or the ecological beauty of the region (such as soil quality and climatic conditions) or a combination of both, they highlighted.
The demand for GI tag for Nayagarh’s Chenapoda has been going on for years now. Earlier, the district (Odisha Rural Development and Marketing Society) ORMAS department deposited necessary documents as proof to the state government.
It may be mentioned here that there have been demands for GI tag to ‘green gram’ of Banigocha village of Daspalla block, Ekiri and Kidraspur village of Nayagarh block and Lodachua of Ranpur block, ‘sal plates’ of Daspalla, Nuagaon, Khandapara and Gania block and also for ‘Chenapoda’.
However, the state government is yet to accord any tag to the above products. Now, the Shanti Trust has been keen on getting GI tag for ‘Chenapoda’ and has prepared all the documents and proofs to be sent to the Central government.
They alleged that the sweet might lose its tag like ‘Rasgola’ if no steps were taken immediately. A little help from the government will make it world famous and further increase its popularity, Patnaik said.
Patnaik added, “Our trust is trying to encourage more people to prepare the sweets and export it to other places to increase its popularity. It can be a profitable venture and give a source of income and livelihood to many people. Besides, attempts should also be made to produce various by-products.”
The members also suggested that the sweet be included in the midday meals in schools as they are a rich source of vitamins and minerals.
Nutritionally, Chenapoda is on par with milk and eggs with lots of vitamin. It contains protein (14g), fat (14g), carbohydrates (32g), 310 calories with some content of iron and other minerals in small quantities. “It should be given to children in midday meals for the vitamins in it,” Patnaik concluded.
PNN