Bhubaneswar: To overcome the potato crisis in Odisha, the state government is procuring tubers from Uttar Pradesh.
The potato crisis in Odisha became acute due to "erratic supply of potatoes from West Bengal" an official said.
Odisha's Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister KC Patra said normalcy will be restored in two-three days after sufficient quantity of potatoes arrive from Uttar Pradesh.
Keeping in view the market situation, the Odisha government is also contemplating to procure potatoes from Punjab to improve supplies and reduce prices of the tuber, the minister said.
Patra held a meeting with representatives of traders' association, owners of cold storage units, and retailers on Tuesday evening.
After the meeting, the minister said the government has decided to step up procurement of potatoes from Uttar Pradesh.
The minister claimed that potato is available in the market at around Rs 35 per kg and reports of the tuber being sold at Rs 40-50 per kg are false and baseless.
Odisha has so far procured 140 truckloads of potatoes from Uttar Pradesh.
"The people in Odisha do not prefer potatoes from UP as it taste sweet. As people do not prefer the UP potatoes, the traders are not interested in procuring them," said Odisha Traders Mahasangh secretary Sudhakar Panda.
"There is no such stock as potato consignment did not come from West Bengal...," claimed a godown owner.
Odisha has been facing an acute shortage of potatoes, as the West Bengal government allegedly stopped transportation of tuber to Odisha, an official said, adding that around 300 truckloads of potatoes were waiting for entry into Odisha.
"Stringent action will be taken against the unscrupulous traders in the state," the minister warned.
The minister denied the allegation that potatoes from UP are not as good as those from West Bengal. "It is not true that potatoes from Uttar Pradesh are not of good quality. The UP potatoes are much better than that of Bengal...," the minister said.
Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on July 27 had met his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee in New Delhi and requested her to streamline potato supply to the state, an official said.
However, the price continued to remain high in Odisha markets due to the "erratic supply of potatoes from West Bengal", an official said.