Bhubaneswar: To control the potato price hike, the State government today said it is planning to procure the tuber from Punjab, even after bringing the kitchen essential from Uttar Pradesh.
The price of potato has increased in Odisha due to inadequate supply from neighbouring West Bengal.
“We cannot be blackmailed for bringing potatoes from Bengal. So, for self-respect, we are now procuring potatoes from Uttar Pradesh. If needed, we will procure potatoes from Punjab,” Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Krushna Chandra Patra told media persons here today.
He rubbished the reports that the potato from UP is not as good as West Bengal.
It is not true that the potato from Uttar Pradesh is not of good quality. The UP potato is much better than Bengal and the price difference due to transportation cost is also maximum one rupee, Shri Patra said.
However, to meet State consumers’ need, Odisha can procure potato from any other state, he added.
The government’s action came after the prices of potatoes brought from both UP and West Bengal continue to sell potato at a price range from Rs 40 to Rs 50 a kilogram in Chhatra Bazar, a major wholesale market in Cuttack city on Monday morning.
Earlier, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi had met his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee in New Delhi on July 27 and requested her to streamline potato supply to the state.
However, the price continued to remain high in Odisha markets due to the “erratic supply of potatoes from West Bengal”, sources said