Solan, fondly known as the Mushroom City of India, is facing a silent crisis. Ever since the compost unit at Chambaghat was dismantled to make way for the four-laning of National Highway-5, growers have been left grappling with rising costs and uncertainty.
For mushroom cultivation, compost is more than just raw material — it's the lifeline. Nearly a quarter of mushroom production costs come from compost alone. With no local unit, farmers are forced to import it from Punjab and Haryana at steep prices, pushing their overall costs up by nearly 30 percent. This makes Solan's mushrooms costlier than their competitors across the border.
Experts at the Directorate of Mushroom Research warn that the problem doesn't stop there. Mushroom farming thrives only between 18°C to 35°C, forcing farmers to create artificial temperature controls, another expense that eats into their profit margins.
Years ago, the Himachal Pradesh Housing and Urban Development Authority prepared a Rs 2.03 crore proposal to build a new compost plant in Solan. The state even released Rs 80 lakh to kick-start the project. But when residents opposed the chosen site, the plan collapsed. Funds were eventually shifted to Sidpur in Mandi district.
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