Kolkata: Potato traders in West Bengal have decided to stick to their stand on going for an indefinite strike from Monday night after a meeting with state Agriculture Minister Becharam Manna earlier in the day failed to resolve their grievances.
According to the West Bengal Progressive Potato Traders’ Association, which has called the strike, they have decided to carry forward with their planned stir since the minister failed to give assurances on when the state government will relax the curbs on sending the vegetable to other states.
However, till the time the report was filed, there was no indication from the state government on when the restrictions will be lifted.
Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, addressing the Assembly, clearly said that her government will not allow the export of potatoes and onions to other states before meeting the internal demands.
Following the decision of the traders to continue with their strike, apprehension is there that the price of this staple vegetable in West Bengal might skyrocket further in the coming days.
Already the prices of two popular varieties of potatoes, namely ‘Jyoti’ and ‘Chandramukhi’, are substantially high in the retail markets with the prices ranging between Rs 35 and Rs 42 a kg.
This is the second time within little over three months that the potato traders in the state, under the auspices of the Progressive Potato Traders’ Association, have called for a strike.
The last time they called for a strike was in August.
An association office bearer pointed out that currently around 6.5 lakh metric tonnes of potatoes are there at the cold storages in the state, which is much higher than the internal requirement of 3 lakh metric tonnes in December.
Hence, he added, in such a situation the restriction on export of potatoes to other states is totally irrational.
(IANS)
