BHUBANESWAR: In a bid to stave off the potato crisis arising out of the embargo imposed by West Bengal government on inter-state movement of the tuber, local traders have started procuring the kitchen essential from Uttar Pradesh to meet the daily requirement of the state.
Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Krushna Chandra Patra on Sunday said there was nothing to worry as 300 truckloads of potato are on way to Odisha and the consignment will reach in a day or two.
The minister exuded confidence that potato supply from UP will stabilise the market and cool down the prices.
“The state government is committed to ensure that essential commodities like potato are available to consumers at an affordable price. We have taken proactive steps to maintain the supply chain without any disruption,” he said.
The minister further said West Bengal traders have informed that they have a stock of seven lakh tonne of potato while the actual need of Odisha is five lakh tonne. They have no problem in supplying the surplus two lakh tonne to the state but they are restricted by their government.
Sources from Kuberpuri Merchant Association said around 50 truckloads of potatoes will arrive from UP either on Monday or Tuesday. If the supply from UP remained unaffected, there will be a drop in price as all-in-cost will be around Rs 30 a kg.
“The traders are taking all the risk to bring potato from UP and the state government has nothing to do with it. If anything happens during transportation, the burden will be on the traders. We have requested the government to give some subsidy towards transportation but it is noncommittal,” the sources said.
Not just Odisha but all neighbouring states including Jharkhand and Assam are equally affected by the potato crisis.
The West Bengal government reimposed curbs on selling potatoes to neighbouring states from Friday in an effort to control the prices in the local markets where the tuber is retailing at Rs 35-Rs 40 per kg, the sources added.