Odishatv Bureau
Bhubaneswar: With the Odisha government failing to import required quantity of potatoes from neighboring West Bengal even after an official talk between CM Naveen Patnaik and his WB counterpart to normalize the tuber supply, the opposition Congress and BJP have started pointing fingers towards the ruling party saying BJD was responsible for the current potato crisis in the state.
 
Opposition Congress said that the state government was too incompetent to handle the situation at a time when tuber had vanished from the kitchen of common households. BJP, in a similar way, hit out at the government saying that the ruling party was busy only with making cheap statement before media.
 
“The price of potato has been going upwards for last one week. But the government is paying no heed to the plight of common people. It should have taken measures much earlier to contain the crisis,” senior Congress leader Niranjan Patnaik stated.
 
Similarly, BJP leader Bijay Mohapatra questioned, “What the government has been doing since the crisis cropped up?”
 
Meanwhile, the Odisha government promised normalcy within two days as it is trying to import the essential vegetable from other states if West Bengal does not agree to provide sufficient quantity of potato.
 
“If we fail to procure potatoes from West Bengal, we will explore options including importing of the vegetable from other states,” Chief Secretary Jugal Kishore Mohapatra said.
 
Similarly, Food and Civil Supplies department secretary Madhusudan Padhi asserted that normalcy would be restored within two-three days. “All cold storages in West Bengal were closed for four days on account of holidays. Potatoes will reach Odisha market by this evening from the neighbouring state. The price is expected to come down soon,” Padhi said.
 
In a related development, Balasore Merchants’ Association decided to hit road protesting against the West Bengal government’s decision to put restrictions on tuber export to Odisha. The association has also threatened to stop transportation of all commodities to West Bengal through NH-5 via Balasore.
 
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