Bhubaneswar: Potato prices in the state will be stabilised soon after arrival of 300 trucks loaded with the tuber from Uttar Pradesh Monday, Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Krushna Chandra Patra said here Sunday. The state government started procuring potatoes from Uttar Pradesh after the neighbouring West Bengal stopped transportation of the tuber to Odisha, the minister said. Claiming that potato prices have been controlled within Rs 35 a kg in the retail market, the minister said the prices will go back to normal rates after Monday.
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Asked about the high prices of potatoes at markets, Patra said stringent action would be taken against those involved in the black marketing of potatoes in the state. The minister came down heavily on the West Bengal government for “stopping potato supply to Odisha”. “West Bengal has a stock of 7 lakh metric tonne of potatoes while its requirement is about 5 lakh tonne. Therefore, they can supply the remaining 2 lakh metric tonne to neighbouring states. But West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has stopped the supply for no reason,” Patra said. The minister said the West Bengal government should reconsider its decision and supply potatoes to other states. “One should help others. However, that is not happening here in case of potatoes. One state may have good production of rice and another may be producing more onion. The additional food grains should be provided to states where the requirement is high,” the minister said. Potato traders in Bengal may face a huge loss if their products are not supplied to other states, he added.
