The price of potatoes is soaring day by day in Jamshedpur. The restrictions imposed by Bengal have returned to haunt the traders again. The prices have once again shot up to Rs 34-35 a kg.
Resumption of a strict restriction on the supply of potatoes from Bengal is said to be the main reason behind the hike in the steel city. Sources went on to inform that potato trucks are once again being stopped from passing the Bengal border since August 30. This has led the prices of potatoes to rise. After imposing a ban in August first week, the Bengal Government agreed to supply 100 tonnes of potato for Jharkhand per day. Through Bahragora and Chakulia border the potatoes are supplied to Jamshedpur. But since August 30, the potato supply has once again been restricted to Jharkhand.
Radheshyam Parwal, a shopkeeper of Parsudih Bazar Samiti, said that the condition has gone out of their control. He revealed that the 90 per cent of the potato supply is from West- Bengal and despite ban on the supply of potato from Bengal, if any transporter tries to cross the Bengal border with potato loaded truck, he is stopped by police and is demanded hefty amount of bribe which results in unwanted price hike here.
The price of potato had come down from Rs 35/38 to Rs 24/25 per kilogramme but since September 1, the prices began to rise. Even vendors selling alu chop and alu dum, who depend heavily on potato, have also reduced the quantity of their items owing to the price rise. Officials of the civil supplies department recently visited various godowns and stock centres of potato and other vegetables to check hoarding. They checked the quantity of stocks, rate of potato and ensured that the rate did not go up further.
According to the potato traders, when the Bengal Government had put up a restriction on the supply of potato to Jharkhand, they would transport the consignment of potato by from the Midnapore, via Ashansole. But since August 30, the Bengal Government has put a strict restriction at the Ashansole border also Meanwhile, Singhbhum Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) president Suresh Sonthalia expressed concern and said that he would once again write to Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for easing the supply of potato to Jamshedpur.
Sources said that 350 to 400 truckloads of potato come to the State from Bengal every day. But the Bengal Government has put restriction on the supply, making it mandatory for traders to obtain permits for transporting potato to their state, which takes five to six days. Many trucks have been detained on the inter-state borders because of this.