Chief minister Mamata Banerjee has taken this initiative to keep the price of essential commodities within reasonable limits. The Trinamool Congress is all set to take up the issue of price rise in the upcoming Monsoon session of Parliament.
The state government plans to set up 30 more Sufal Bangla centres across the state. At present, there are 24 outlets; of these, 23 are in Kolkata and its adjoining area, and one in Bolpur.
The new Sufal Bangla stalls in various districts will first come up at district headquarters, followed by sub-divisions and finally in other smaller divisions of the districts.
It has also been planned to launch a mobile app so that people can have the option of buying products from the Sufal Bangla stalls without having to travel too far. The vegetables, chicken, eggs or fish will be delivered to one’s door step.
Setting up of such outlets provides dual benefits: first, common people get the option of buying vegetables at a cheaper price and secondly, farmers too can sell their produce without the intervention of middlemen.
It is to be noted that in most cases, involvement of middlemen leads to a hike in the price of essential commodities, which are sold in common markets.
The agriculture marketing department has urged the district magistrates to earmark a place of about 800 to 1000 square feet. The stalls will be located at places where most people can reach easily. At the same time, farmers will also get easy access to the stalls.
The turnover of the existing Sufal Bangla outlets is around Rs 17 crore. The daily sale of vegetables in the Bolpur outlet alone is nearly Rs 45,000. “We consider it to be a landmark achievement of the state government; not only in terms of turnover but also in highlighting that thousands of people are getting relief after setting up of the stalls,” state Agriculture Marketing Minister Tapan Dasgupta said.
Steps have also been taken to sell products of Mother Diary, West Bengal Livestock Development Corporation and Fisheries Development Corporation in the Sufal Bangla stalls. Hence, common people will be able to buy fish, chicken and eggs and other grocery items at reasonable rates.