Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Sunday spoke to his Bengal counterpart, Mamata Banerjee, urging her her to normalise potato supply to Odisha.
According to the CMO, Majhi mentioned that the supply was streamlined following their meeting in Delhi. However, Odisha has been encountering potato crisis again for the last few days, leading to price rise, he said while drawing her attention to the problem and seeking her intervention again.
Mamata has assured him of appropriate steps to resolve the issue, it added.
This came amid report that the Bengal government has decided to install CCTV cameras along its border with Odisha to check the movement of trucks carrying consignments of the tuber through alternate routes.
THE POTATO CRISIS
Odisha has been facing an acute potato crisis after neighbouring West Bengal stopped transportation of the tuber and traders from the state refused to purchase it from Uttar Pradesh, stating that people don’t like the variety available in the northern state.
To tide over the crisis, the government has started selling potatoes at Rs 100 for 3 kg in retail shops across the state under the public distribution system (PDS). “Potatoes have been sent to different places in the state through NAFED (National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd). The traders have also started releasing potatoes to the market. I am hopeful that they will also start selling the tuber at a reasonable price,” Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister K C Patra told reporters.
He added that potatoes will be directly brought from Uttar Pradesh. “I have already spoken to the Railways Minister in this regard. Now, Odisha can get sufficient potato for its consumption…,” he said.
On Saturday, the Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare department started the process to provide 10 packets of potatoes to each dealer with the instruction that they would provide 3 kg potatoes to families of all ration card holders at Rs 100 till the market rates stabilise.
The department officials also conducted raids in Unit-I market of Bhubaneswar and directed retailers to sell potatoes at the price fixed by the government while warning them of strong action if they are found selling the tuber at more than Rs 32 to Rs 35 per kg.
West Bengal is second largest producers of potatoes, accounting for 23.51 per cent of the country’s total share in 2021-22, with Uttar Pradesh at the top with 29.65 per cent, according to the Government of India’s Agri Exchange trading platform.
