Bhograi (Balasore): The Oriental Bank of Commerce has sealed the Hironmayee cold store at Jalsoria Pan market hereSundayafter it defaulted on a loan and accumulated interest of over Rs 5.5crore. The bank proposes to put the property under the hammer.
Three proprietors, Ashok Bhuyan, Santosh Bhuyan and Tanushree Bhuyan of Kalikakhali in Midnapore district in West Bengal, had taken a loan of Rs 4crore to run the cold storage facility. However, this had not been made operational for years and it now resembles a haunted house.
The cold store has a capacity of 5,000 tonnes and was aimed at conserving vegetables and potatoes produced by farmers in north Balasore. A trader of Chouki village had set up the facility, but he later sold it to traders from West Bengal.
As the loan instalments could not be repaid for a long time, the bank served a notice on the owners. Yet, the three showed no interest in repaying the money even as the loan and interest amounts together rose to Rs 5.5crore.
The bank then filed a case at the magistrate’s court here, seeking its permission to take possession of the movable and immovable assets of the cold store. Based on the nod, the collector issued an order to this effect.