Rourkela's E-cool Mandi: Leveraging Smart Technology for Urban Food System ResilienceThe Rourkela Municipal Corporation (RMC), through its "E-cool Mandi" project, demonstrates an inspiring model for urban food system transformation by integrating smart, technology-based solutions with grassroots community empowerment. The initiative primarily addresses significant post-harvest losses, which historically accounted for an annual wastage of 34\% of fruits and over 44\% of vegetables in local markets due to inadequate cold storage.

The project has been validated by its recognition under the Indian Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs' "EatSmart Cities" challenge. The E-cool Mandi project involves the decentralized installation of five solar energy-powered cold storage facilities in strategic market locations. These units are designed to benefit approximately 1,650 vendors and close to one million residents, with city-wide scaling planned by 2025. This technological intervention makes storage accessible and affordable to small-scale producers, costing a minimal INR 0.20 per day per kg. The RMC implements this solution through a multi-stakeholder collaboration involving the District Horticulture Department, NGOs, Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), and local startup Koel Fresh Pvt Ltd. A critical feature of the initiative is its women-led management structure. Each E-cool Mandi is operated by Self Help Groups (SHGs), which transitioned from managing a single 5 MT cold room (Maa Tarini SHG) to a cumulative 115 MT capacity across the city. This approach creates meaningful employment opportunities and ensures community-based, horizontal, and mutual-help facility management. The system is further enhanced by:

• Digital Inventory Management: Integrated systems track stored products, minimizing losses, and significantly improving vendors' business management capabilities. Cold Room Ambassadors: An Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) program utilizing peer-to-peer education to build awareness and promote services. Electric Vehicle (EV) Distribution: A fleet of six EVs is used to distribute fresh produce to institutional consumers (hospitals, hotels, caterers), extending the vendors' reach while maintaining product quality via temperature-controlled logistics. The implementation of refrigerated storage has resulted in tangible improvements: Economic Uplift: Small and marginal vendors have reported 10-30% revenue growth due to decreased distress selling and increased product quality retention. The project has successfully built a network of 1,400 engaged vendors.
• Environmental Benefits: Reduced food waste and the utilization of solar energy contribute to broader sustainability goals and climate change mitigation.
• Social Mobilization: Women's Federation networks were crucial for community mobilization and building trust, supported by technical and non-technical capacity-building programs for vendors. Initial onboarding challenges involved vendor skepticism regarding technology adoption, requiring extensive participatory discussions to demonstrate project value.

Ongoing technical challenges necessitate continuous support and training for cold storage maintenance, digital system operation, and EV fleet management. For city-wide scaling, securing adequate funding while maintaining the quality standards and community management approaches remains a significant hurdle. In essence, Rourkela's E-cool Mandi serves as a compelling model of how municipal governments can strategically deploy smart, decentralized infrastructure to strengthen urban food system resilience, enhance vendor livelihoods, and simultaneously address sustainability and food security challenges.