Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi met with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday in New Delhi to address the ongoing crisis in potato supply from West Bengal to Odisha. The meeting, held on the sidelines of the Governing Council meeting of the NITI Aayog, sought Banerjee's intervention to resolve the issue that has significantly affected potato prices in Odisha.
Majhi took to social media platform X to announce the discussion, stating, "Discussed the potato supply problem in Odisha with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee...To resolve this temporary issue, Odisha’s supply minister has verified stock and reviewed the situation. The state government is taking necessary steps to control potato prices and solve the supply problem as soon as possible."
According to a release from the Odisha Chief Minister's Office, Majhi requested Banerjee to streamline the potato supply chain to alleviate the problems faced by the people of Odisha due to "restrictions on the potato supply outside Bengal leading to an artificial price rise here."
Significantly, the issue has led to a heated exchange between political parties, with the ruling BJP accusing the BJD government of failing to make Odisha self-sufficient in potato and onion production during its 24-year rule. Patra asserted, "The BJD government is responsible for this crisis. The potato mission of the BJD government could not succeed due to mismanagement." He further claimed that the BJP government would achieve self-sufficiency in potato production in the next two to three years.
In response, however, BJD vice-president Debi Prasad Mishra credited former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's recent letter to Banerjee for the resumption of potato supply from Bengal. Mishra defended the BJD's efforts, citing various challenges that hindered the potato mission.
Meanwhile, amid the current debate over the crisis, it is pertinent to note that the Odisha state government has capped the price of potatoes at Rs 32 per kg to curb the inflated prices, which had soared to Rs 50 per kg.
(With inputs from PTI)
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