Keonjhar: Lakhs of rupees spent by the Horticulture department here to start a honey bee farming project at its Kuanr farm three years ago have gone down the drains as the project has proved to be a non-starter. Lack of proper maintenance is said to be the reason behind the failure of the ambitious project.
There was a time when people would buy honey collected in Keonjhar and Mayurbhanj on good faith. The quality of Keonjhar honey used to be its unique selling point. Tribal people living in forests would collect the honey from trees in the forests and sell it in markets. The quality of honey was so good that it was in great demand.
However, with the passage of time, the jungles were destroyed and gave way to various developmental and mining activities. The role of timber mafia in playing a major hand in the destruction of jungles can’t also be ignored. All these factors adversely impacted the production of natural honey. In its absence, people started using packaged honey bought from markets. Even the traditional ayurvedic practitioners couldn’t get pure honey to prepare medicines.
Realising the demand for honey produced in Keonjhar and shortage of its supply, the Horticulture department decided to start honey bee farming at its Kuanr nursery. The project was started with 120 boxes three years ago.
However, these boxes have been lying unused for the last two years. Lying in the open, they are damaged. As a result, the money spent on the project has gone waste. Subsequently, the department bought boxes with bees, each costing Rs 4,500. Thus, the department had spent around Rs 5,50,000 just for purchasing boxes.
While no enquiry has been ordered to find who is responsible for the failure of project, the department is now planning to restart it once more. “Efforts are already underway,” some sources said.
Meanwhile, it has been widely discussed that appointments should be made to fill up the vacant posts in the department to look after the project. Unless new appointments are made, it would be case of throwing good money after the bad.
When contacted, deputy director of Horticulture department, Sukant ayak said that he was unable to say who were responsible for the failure of the project and the reasons that led to mismanagement because it happened prior to his posting. “Lying in the open, all the boxes are damaged. The departmental efforts are on to revive the project,” he informed.