Probable cyclone: Odisha minister urges consumers not to resort to panic buying

In the wake of a possible cyclonic storm, Odisha Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Ranendra Pratap Swain on Wednesday urged people not to go into panic buying to stock up essential commodities.

Taking to Twitter, the minister appealed to people not to buy and stock essential items unnecessarily. He said it might cause an artificial shortage in the market while some traders may take advantage of the situation and increase the prices of the essential commodities.

“Such panic buying will only benefit unscrupulous traders,” he cautioned the consumers.

The Minister assured that the State government is fully prepared to tackle any situation. He said the Food Supplies department is monitoring the market. Stringent action will be taken against those resorting to hoarding and black marketing, the minister added.

He said there is enough stock of all kinds of food items and other essentials in the market.

Meanwhile, India Meteorological Department (IMD) said that a cyclonic circulation has formed over South Andaman Sea and neighbourhood and extends up to mid-tropospheric levels.

As per IMD’s Regional Centre in Bhubaneswar, a low-pressure area is likely to form over the same region under the influence of the cyclonic circulation system around May 6.

(Edited By Ramakant Biswas)