By Our Correspondent
BHUBANESWAR:Berhampur MP Dr. Pradeep Kumar Panigrahi has welcomed the news that Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah will visit Odisha on July 4 to lay the foundation stone for the revival and renovation of three major cooperative sugar mills (Nayagarh, Badamba and Bolangir) in the state. He termed this move as a visionary and historic decision for the farmers and cooperative sector of Odisha.
In this context, MP Dr. Panigrahi has written a special letter to the Union Minister for Cooperatives Shri Amit Shah requesting him to take urgent steps for comprehensive reforms and technological change in Asia’s oldest cooperative institution – “Aska Cooperative Sugar Industries Ltd.” in Ganjam district.
The MP mentioned in his letter that the Asika Sugar Mill is the economic backbone of thousands of sugarcane farmers in South Odisha. Now its infrastructure is outdated and it needs complete renovation and modernization. Earlier on March 12, 2026, he had sent a detailed proposal to the Union Minister for converting this sugar mill into a multi-product bio-refinery model and a green energy hub.
MP Dr. Panigrahi expressed his strong hope that if the proposal for modernization of the Asika sugar mill is included on priority in the upcoming July 4th program of the Honorable Minister of Home and Cooperation, it will secure the livelihood of the farmers of Ganjam and the entire South Odisha and create a new chapter in the cooperative movement of the country.
