Statesman News Service
MALDA, 24 JULY: After several requests from customers and the ordeal they had been facing since a long time, the Malda district magistrate, Mr Sridhar Ghosh finally directed merchants to sell potatoes at the rate of Rs 14 per kilogram in local markets. Even then, though the Malda Merchants’ Chamber of Commerce (MMCC) claimed that the rate of potatoes has been reduced to Rs 14 per kilogram from Rs 17 to 18, potatoes were still charged at Rs 15 per kilogram today at Netaji Market.
One of the regular customers, Mr Indranil Biswas, said: “I bought quality potatoes at Rs 15 per kilogram from Netaji Market this morning”.
Holding a meeting with the MMCC recently, Mr Ghosh requested them not to charge more than Rs 14 per kilogram of potatoes, when the government rate is Rs 13.
“I had requested the MMCC to sell potatoes at Rs 13 per kilogram but they said that due to the cost of conveyance, it is forced to charge Re 1 more than the government fixed price. If the government can assure that it would provide subsidy for the extra expenses, it can sell potatoes at Rs 13 per kilogram in the local market,” said Mr Ghosh.
“Yesterday, my staff bought potato at Rs. 14 per kg from the local market”, Mr Ghosh added. The joint secretary of the MMCC, Mr Ujjal Saha, said: “At present we are bringing potatoes from Burdwan, Memari, Bolpur and other areas of south Bengal. Due to excessive conveyance cost we are not in a position to sell it at Rs 13 per kilogram at present”.
“The rates of potatoes were Rs 17 and Rs 18 in the last week of June but today the rate is Rs 14 per kilogram after bringing potatoes from not only the south Bengal districts but also from other states”, Mr Saha added.
No comments:
Post a Comment