Now, Sufal Bangla outlets in Kurseong, Kalimpong, other parts of N Bengal

Kolkata: After the success of Sufal Bangla in South Bengal districts in Kolkata, the state Agriculture Marketing department is going to open Sufal Bangla outlets in Kurseong, Kalimpong and other parts of North Bengal.

With the situation in the Hills turning towards normal, the state Agriculture Marketing department has also started taking necessary steps to implement its project of setting up Sufal Bangla stalls in Kurseong and Kalimpong respectively besides other parts of North Bengal.

Besides Kurseong and Kalimpong, Sufal Bangla stalls will also come up in Siliguri, Jalpaiguri, Raiganj, Cooch Behar, and Alipurduar. Two Sufal Bangla stalls will come up in Siliguri as well. Necessary task to set up the stalls have already begun and all the stalls in North Bengal will become operation by November this year if everything goes as planned.

Tapan Dasgupta, the state Agriculture Marketing minister, said: "We are giving stress in setting up Sufal Bangla stalls in North Bengal."

It may be mentioned that the Sufal Bangla stalls have been introduced to ensure that common people get fresh vegetables at the correct price. The stalls are mainly run by different Farmers' Producers Organisations (FPOs) who collect vegetables directly from farmers and sell in the Sufal Bangla stalls. It benefits both farmers and common people. The reason being farmers get right prices for their produce and they do not need to depend on middlemen and people get fresh vegetables at the right prices as well.

At present, there are 19 Sufal Bangla Stalls situated at differest parts of the city and urban areas in South Bengal districts. Besides the static stalls, there are around 48 movable Sufal Bangla stalls that enter different localities to help people get fresh vegetables. Twenty two out of 48 were introduced just ahead of Durga Puja.

The state Agriculture Marketing department has set a target of establishing a total of 100 Sufal Bangla stalls all across Bengal by the end of the current financial year. According to an official of the department, with setting up of the Sufal Bangla stalls in North Bengal they will not be too far from setting up the 100 stalls across the state. The official maintained that with setting up of the Sufal Bangla stalls in the newly formed Kalimpong and Kurseon districts, the people in the Hills will also start getting the benefits of the project.

It may be mentioned that after coming to power for the second term in 2016, all the district authorities were urged to identify locations where Sufal Bangla stalls can be set up. The district authorities have helped the department to identify the locations and officials of the department did the necessary legwork to set up stalls.

During the days of Durga Puja, the total turnover of the Sufal Bangla stalls had gone up. The operators had to stock vegetables even twice a day.