Nayagarh: ‘Chhena poda’ manufacturers in this district are a worried lot due to the ongoing lockdown implemented to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Business has come to a standstill. On normal days a Chhenapoda manufacturer sells over of a quintal of this sweet. However, there haven’t been any takers for more than a month now.
Nayagarh is as famous for its ‘chhena poda’ as Cuttack is for its ‘Dahibara Aludam’. One hundred families in Machhipada under Nayagarh block, 90 families in Solpata and 30 families in Darapada village under Odagaon block and 10 families in Nayagarh town are in the business of manufacturing ‘Chhena poda’.
Antaryami Behera, a manufacturer from Machhipada informed they sell one to 1.5 quintals of ‘chhena poda’ per day. “Every morning one of us would go to bus stand to send the sweet to Sundargarh, Berhampur, Keonjhar, Joda, Sambalpur, Rayagada, Rourkela, Barbil, Jharsuguda etc. This has stopped. The ovens to bake the sweet haven’t been lit for a long time,” he said.
His assistant Ramesh Behera said their business has seriously been affected by the lockdown. Without government assistance, it will be difficult for us to survive, he observed.
Describing it as a ‘worst’ experience he has never felt in his life, Dhani Behera, another ‘chhena poda’ manufacturer from Solapata, said they are in severe mental distress. “If the lockdown continues for a few more days, it would be difficult for us to make both ends meet,” Behera stated.
There are some manufacturers who are still making ‘chhena poda’, but in reduced capacity. “Coronavirus has snatched away our livelihood. We have been sitting idle. We are making a small quantity of the sweet to keep the pot boiling. But, we are not getting customers to sell the product. It has become very difficult for us to maintain our families,” said Bijay Behera of Darapada.
The effect is also being felt by the milk sellers. According to Nilakantha Behera, a cattle rearer in Nabaghanpur, they used to sell milk to the ‘Chhena poda’ manufacturers to earn their livelihood. “With ‘chhena poda’ production going down drastically, we are not being able to sell milk. We had some non-‘chhena poda’ customers. However, due to lockdown neither can they come nor can we go to them. We are not being able to earn the barest minimum required to run our families. We also do not have the money to buy food for our cows,” lamented Nilakantha.
Everyone involved in the trade urged the government to look into their plight and do something.