State to provide 45K tonnes of potato at Rs 25/kg

Kolkata: Far sightedness of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is going to give a respite to the people of Bengal ahead of Durga Puja as 45,000 tonnes of potatoes will be sold at Rs 25 per kg through Sufal Bangla stalls.

This comes when potatoes are sold at Rs 32 per kg in the open market.

It was in February, the Chief Minister had directed the concerned officers to initiate procurement of 10 lakh tonne potatoes so that it can be later distributed among people at a minimum price possible. The concerned department had initiated procurement of the same through cold storages. But it had become possible to procure 45,000 tonnes of potato. According to a senior officer it had not become possible to procure more as the entire mechanism had come to a standstill due to the

nationwide lockdown on March 24.

Now when the Centre's move has almost left the states with no option in maintaining supply and rate of such produce, the price of potato is skyrocketing that at present stands at Rs 32 per kg.

In such a situation, the state government has taken the move to distribute the same through the Sufal Bangla stalls of the state Agriculture Marketing department.

A senior state government official said: "It is just because of the far sightedness of the Chief Minister it is becoming possible to help people get potato at Rs 25 per kg when it is being sold at Rs 35 per kg in open market."

It may be mentioned that the state government has also distributed potatoes at the same price when its price has skyrocketed a month ago by procuring it from wholesale markets.