Odisha to procure potatoes from Punjab if needed: Food Supplies Minister | Pragativadi | Odisha News, Breaking News Odisha, Latest Odisha News

Bhubaneswar: After snapping potato imports from West Bengal, the Odisha government decided to bring potatoes from Uttar Pradesh and now focusing on procuring stock from Punjab.

Last week, the supply of potatoes to Odisha was disrupted due to a strike in West Bengal. Later, the West Bengal administration, police and political workers were accused of stopping Odisha’s potato trucks and extorting money. Due to the non-arrival of potatoes from West Bengal, the price of potatoes in Odisha skyrocketed.

Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi met West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the NITI Aayog meeting in New Delhi and discussed the issue, but in vain. Later, the Odisha government decided not to import potatoes from Uttar Pradesh instead of West Bengal.

Citing that traders of Odisha are subjected to extortion while bringing potatoes from West Bengal, State Food Supplies & Consumer Welfare Minister Krushna Chandra Patra said that even if the price is high from the consumers’ point of view, potatoes will be procured from Uttar Pradesh as it is a matter of self-respect.

According to the government’s decision, potatoes are now coming from Uttar Pradesh. But, both the retailers and the traders have expressed their dissatisfaction over the quality of potatoes coming from Uttar Pradesh and complained that the stocks are rotting quickly.

On Monday, the supply minister directly refuted this allegation and said that the quality of potatoes coming from UP is far better than that of West Bengal.

The Food Supplies minister said, “The potatoes of Uttar Pradesh are large in size and good quality. So the government has decided to bring potatoes from there. Now, if needed, there is no problem in bringing potatoes from Punjab.”

Also Read: Odisha To Procure Potato from UP Instead of Bengal: Food Supplies Minister

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