Potato farmers staged protests in different parts of Jalpaiguri district on Saturday over alleged irregularities in the issuing of cold storage bonds and the sharp fall in potato prices.
Cold storage bonds are documents issued by the facility’s owner, guaranteeing storage space in lieu of money. In times of bumper harvests, like this year, the importance of such bonds shoots up to safeguard the produce.
Long queues of farmers were seen from Friday night outside a cold storage facility at the Bahadur panchayat area under Jalpaiguri Sadar block. Farmers had come to collect the bonds required to store potatoes.
On Saturday morning, tension escalated in the area as a section of farmers blocked the Jalpaiguri-Chaulhati state highway in front of the cold storage in protest. They alleged that despite waiting through the night, many did not get
the bonds.
As the news spread, police reached the area to bring the situation under control. As they tried to disperse the farmers, scuffles reportedly broke out between
both sides.
The farmers blocked the road for around three hours, which hit traffic on
the route.
In another incident, members and supporters of the All India Kishan Sabha (AIKS), the farmers’ front of the CPM, staged a demonstration on NH27 from noon to around 1pm. Agitators blocked the Dhupguri–Siliguri stretch near the Jaldhaka river bridge under Dhupguri block, demanding measures to curb the alleged black marketing of cold
storage bonds.
“Potato prices in the market are extremely low. In this situation, farmers are unable to recover even production costs. They are also facing problems in sending potatoes to other states and many can’t get bonds from cold storage units,” said Pran Gopal Bhowal, the president of the Jalpaiguri district unit of the farmers’ body.
“The state should procure potatoes at ₹14 per kilo. Or else, it will be difficult to stabilise the market,” he said.
As protests continued, a team from Dhupguri police station reached the spot and spoke to the agitators. They dispersed around 1pm.