Potato being sold at a government fair price shop for Rs 20 a kilo in Bhubaneswar. A family can get 2kg of potato at this price. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Aug. 8: Non-availability of potato continues to push up its price in local markets. While one kilogram of potato was being sold at Rs 20 or less a few days ago, it has now touched Rs 40 in city markets. On the outskirts, potato is being sold for Rs 50.

The shortage has been triggered due to restriction on dispatch of potato from neighbouring Bengal, which meets bulk of Odisha's requirement.

State food supplies secretary Madhusudan Padhi, however, said that he had spoken to his Bengal counterpart, who assured him that no official restriction had been imposed on supply of potato by the Mamata Banerjee government. Padhi’s comment, however, is in sharp contrast to the scenario at the Odisha border where around 270 potato-laden trucks have been detained by the Bengal police.

In Calcutta, a minister in the Mamata Banerjee government told The Telegraph that there was no change in stance. The Bengal government will not allow any trader to transport potato outside the state, he said.

“We are implementing a provision of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955. As per the provision, the state can prevent essential items going out from its jurisdiction in case of a crisis. Bengal is facing a crisis due to the rising prices of potato and that’s why we cannot allow its export to other states before the festive season,” the minister said.

Asked if other states oppose the move and lodge complaints with the Centre, the minister said: “The Centre can talk to us… We will tell them why we had to initiate the step, but we are not accountable to other states.”

Secretary of the All Odisha Byabasayee Mahasangha Sudhakar Panda said that the situation might continue unless the Bengal government releases the detained trucks. “Last evening 10 truckloads of potato, around 160 tonnes, arrived in the city. But it was inadequate as the daily requirement crosses 300 trucks. However, after the release of potato from the cold storages, the price has come down to some extent,” said Panda.

Padhi said around 300 metric tonnes of potatoes had been stored in two cold storages. This stock would be sold at Rs 20 per kg through 50 public distribution system outlets and five fair price shops of the government.

“The memory of last year when potato vanished from the market is still fresh in our mind. But luckily it could buy it today,” said Surabhi Nanda, a homemaker.

Traders say that the state government should intervene fast or potatoes in the detained trucks would perish. They also fear that production may get affected because of the flood in the vegetable production centres such as Banki, Balianta and Kakatpur.

To tide over the crisis, food supplies minister Sanjay Kumar Das Burma said: “We are trying to sustain on the reserve stock. Besides we are trying to procure potato from other states. We are also trying to procure potato through Nafed.”

The crisis has already begun to take political hues as BJD leaders and workers stopped hundreds of Bengal-bound trucks carrying edible goods near the Laxmannath check gate in Balasore. They were protesting against the Bengal government’s decision not to let potato-filled trucks into Odisha.

Balasore’s sub-divisional police officer Satya Ranjan Mallick said: “The protesters are only allowing vehicles carrying non-edible items.”

District collector Arabind Agarwal said: “I have spoken to my counterpart in Bengal and have also informed the state government.”

Most of the Bengal-bound trucks have consignments of perishable items such as fish, eggs, fruits and tomatoes from either Andhra Pradesh or Odisha.

BJD MLA Aswani Patra said: “The picketing is in protest against the Bengal government’s unilateral decision to stop sending potato to us.” Echoing similar sentiments, Balasore MP R.K. Jena said: “There should be no restriction between two states. We are all inter-dependant.”