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The deepening crisis in potato supplies left consumers across Odisha harried with the tuber remaining unavailable at the retail markets and going off the menu of eateries as imports from neighbouring West Bengal are yet to be restored.
Though the state government has taken steps to supply potatoes at Rs 22 per kg at 169 fair price shops, the essential vegetable was hard to procure.
Potato prices in the state have escalated to Rs 35 per kg, a two-fold hike over last week’s price of Rs 17 a kg. A lion’s share of the state’s potato requirement is met by West Bengal.
“We have no stock to meet the consumers’ demand. There are no supplies from West Bengal. We are sitting with bare hands and are helpless,” said Sudhakar Panda, secretary, Odisha Byabasayi Mahasangha, a merchants’ association.
Now the buck stops with the state government to restore the normalcy in tuber supplies, he added.
Madhusudan Padhi, secretary, food and civil supplies department, said, “The Chief secretary of West Bengal has assured that the normal supply of potatoes will be restored by today evening. There was no movement of trucks due to holidays in the last three-four days in the neighbouring state.”
Chief minister Naveen Patnaik has already requested his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee to take steps for restoration of normal supply of potatoes to the state but the normalcy is yet to be restored.
Sources said, 400 trucks of potatoes are required in the state but the import from West Bengal remains zero so far.
Prices of potatoes have also surged in states like Jharkhand, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh. The short supply of potatoes from Andhra Pradesh has also added to the woes, sources said.
