Keep essential commodities’ prices under control: CM

A review meeting of the task force held in Nabanna on Thursday.

Rabindranath Koley, a member of the task force, said: “The Chief Minister has directed us to keep tab on the prices of essential commodities so that the common people do not get harassed by an abnormal hike of any of these goods.”

It may be mentioned that the price of potato has gone up to Rs 14 per kg and Rs 12 per kg in some places. Banerjee has also asked the task force members to take steps to cap the price of potato at Rs 14. A few weeks ago potato was available in different markets in the city at Rs 8 to Rs 10 per kg.

Later, sources said that at present the farmers sell potatoes directly from their farm land. 

There is no question of the stable food getting hoarded by some businessmen to create a scarcity in the market, which in turn resulted in the skyrocketing of potato price in market.

The farmers are now selling potato at Rs 10 per kg. Thus, according to an official of the state agriculture department potato at Rs 14 per kg in the markets are quite reasonable. 

But there are some businessmen, who are trying to create panic, stating the yield this year was not good due to rainfall at an unusual time of the season. 

“But the reality is that the rainfall had not affected much and it cannot be the reason to claim that the production of potato was good,” the official said.

Banerjee has also directed to take steps to reopen the shops, which are closed at present, to sell out vegetables and potato at a reasonable price. Meanwhile, around 500 traders from Garia market had given a deputation to the Chief Minister stating that a real estate developer had threatened them to remove their shops.  The developer claimed that the land is owned by him and he has plans to develop a multi-storey building on that plot.  Banerjee directed the Kolkata Municipal Corporation to look into the matter.