Odisha traders stop buying wheat, pulses outside state

Odisha is staring at an artificial scarcity of pulses and wheat products as the All Odisha Traders' Association (AOTA) Tuesday stopped buying pulses, wheat and wheat products from other states for an indefinite period.

Around 2,200 traders under the banner of AOTA are protesting the 5 percent value added tax (VAT) imposed on these items by the Odisha government, and demanding introduction of a unitary tax system on food products.

"We have been demanding that the government come up with a unitary tax system instead of 5 percent VAT levied on the wheat products, which is leading to price rise. As no other state has imposed tax on pulses and foodgrains, the apathy of government forced us to resort to such steps," said Sudhakar Panda, general secretary of AOTA.

People in the state consume about 67,000 tonnes of pulses and 12,000 tonnes of wheat products every month. A part of this demand is met by supplies from other states. However, the government officials said they are well aware of the situation and the issue will be resolved soon.

"Reduction or exemption of tax will be decided by the finance department and cabinet. This cannot be done in a day or two. However, we will sort out the problem soon," Madhusudan Padhi, food supplies and consumer welfare secretary, told IANS.