SHAHJAHANPUR (UP), Feb 26 (PTI): Shahjahanpur’s riverside Katri area, once infamous for the terror of dacoits, has now become a hub of groundnut processing and opened thousands of employment avenues.
Allahganj, a small town situated here, has emerged as a centre of groundnut business with more than 100 factories. The local traders are supplying groundnut to different parts of the country.
Shailendra Pandey, a resident, says that earlier people used to avoid leaving their homes after dark.
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For almost four decades in the Katri area, dacoits like Chhabiram Pothi, Rani Thakur, Bade Lalla, Kallu, Najju and Naresha Dhimar used to create rampage. Their terror extended till Kalan and Mirzapur of Jalalabad.
Superintendent of Police S Anand said that after Kallu dacoit was killed by the police in January 2006, the area became free from terror.
Kallu’s terror was till Shahjahanpur as well as Bareilly, Etah and Farrukhabad. He is also believed to be responsible for the killing of 20 policemen. He had more than 90 cases of murder, kidnapping and robbery registered against him.
But the police gradually eliminated all the dacoits. After that farmers in the area started farming without any fear and a number of industries were also set up.
MLA from Jalalabad constituency Hari Prakash Verma said that it is a matter of pride that Katari area is now known for groundnut industry.
The government is trying to ensure that the entrepreneurs here get maximum facilities.
Chief Development Officer Shyam Bahadur Singh said that groundnut processing is going on in Allahganj.
Raw groundnut is brought from nearby districts, including Hardoi Mainpuri Agra and Farrukhabad, for processing as a number of local traders have set up small units, which are providing employment to thousands of people in and around Allahganj.
Groundnut produced and processed here is in great demand in various states, including Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Maharashtra.
Singh said that the administration is trying to set up a big processing unit in Allahganj so that the groundnut traders here can get more profit.
The groundnut industry is a major source of livelihood for the traders as well as labourers and workers here.
According to businessman Rajendra Kumar Gupta, the acute problem of unemployment here has reduced to a great extent because of the groundnut industry. Generally, during the rainy season, both male and female workers stayed at home due to lack of work. Now even in the rainy season they are getting ample work due to the groundnut industry and every worker earns Rs 400 to Rs 500 a day.
Pawan Gupta, President of Allahganj Vyapar Mandal, says that at present there is a business of about Rs 600 crore annually in Allahganj.
“The groundnut business in the town started in 2008 on a very small scale. Traders used to bring groundnut from Rajasthan or Jhansi and roast it in a furnace and sell it in Lucknow and Allahabad (now Prayagraj). Presently there are about 100 groundnut processing factories in Allahganj, ” he said.
Additional District Magistrate (Finance and Revenue) Tribhuvan said that he will soon hold a meeting with the groundnut traders in Allahganj to listen to their problems and take their suggestions to take forward this business and make a strategy so that more entrepreneurs are motivated in this work and establish their own industry.
Allahganj’s groundnut industry is also a major source of revenue for the government. Rajeev Ranjan, secretary of the Agricultural Produce Market Committee, said that the Allahganj groundnut industry earns an average revenue of Rs 20 lakh per month.
Arun Kumar Pandey, Assistant General Manager, District Industries Centre, said that the government has provided loan facility to the entrepreneurs to promote the groundnut industry in Allahganj. Entrepreneurs can take advantage of this by completing the necessary formalities.
