Dikhyaa Mohanty 
The government has chosen to import the kitchen tuber from Uttar Pradesh due to the State’s existing potato issue. The West Bengal government’s harassment in supplying the tuber was the reason behind the decision. The import of potatoes from West Bengal would eventually end, according to Minister of Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Krushna Chandra Patra, who made this announcement in a media conference. The Minister said that potatoes will come from Uttar Pradesh, not West Bengal.
He continued, “The state government has made this important decision to permanently solve the problem.” In order to tackle the protracted scarcity of potatoes in Odisha, the state administration has devised substitute plans to procure superior potatoes from Uttar Pradesh, eschewing the conventional provider West Bengal, which has been causing issues regularly. The Food Minister claims that by making this choice, the situation would be resolved and Odisha will have a consistent supply of high-quality potatoes.
During the Niti Ayog meeting in New Delhi, Chief Minister Mohan Majhi recently met with his counterpart from West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, and asked her to address the issue. However, the crisis was still unresolved. The minister added that the traders’ union and the government met at Lok Seva Bhawan and decided to buy the tuber from UP. According to Patra, a few trucks full of the vegetable have arrived in the state today in response to West Bengal’s capricious acts, and additional shipments are scheduled to arrive in the next few days.
“This will gradually reduce the dependence on West Bengal for potatoes. The Uttar Pradesh government will extend all support in this regard,” Patra added.
