Bageshwar Women Run Millet Factory Closes, Leaving 900 Jobless

Special Correspondent, Uttarakhand (Bageshwar District)-

A beacon of women led rural entrepreneurship, the Maa Chiltha Mahila Utpadan Cooperative in Uttarakhand’s Bageshwar district has shut down operations ending a chapter that once drew praise from Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his "Mann Ki Baat" radio program.

The cooperative, which trained and employed over 900 local women to process and market millet based health foods, was seen as a model initiative under India’s nutritional and self reliance mission. However, after just a few years of success, the factory faced mounting logistical constraints, drying market demand, inadequate infrastructure, and diminishing institutional support.

With India celebrating 2023–24 as the International Year of Millets, the closure has raised concerns over sustainability of grassroots ventures. Many affected women expressed disappointment, claiming that their livelihoods were left unsupported despite national recognition. Experts are now calling for more long term investment, backward linkages, and marketing support to avoid similar setbacks in other rural women led enterprises.