Invoking Essential Commodities Act of 1973, the Cuttack district Collector on Friday directed a Jagatpur-based cold storage unit to update the district administration about the daily stock of potato in the unit.
The order said that without the permission of the district administration stock from Jayguru Storage unit would not be lifted in view of the current short supply of potato in Odisha market.
It is learnt that the storage unit has over 38,500 quintals of potato and the district administration has decided to distribute the stock through fair price shops under the PDS scheme to put a check on the skyrocketing of potato price hike.
Although stores in the State have substantial amount of potato and efforts are on to bring the stock from elsewhere, the halt in movement of potato-laden trucks from West Bengal has triggered price hike of this essential vegetable.
Bajrang Dal activists here stopped some fish-laden trucks that were on their way to West Bengal with slogans "Release potato to take fish".
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