The price of the potato came down in Jalpaiguri soon after district magistrate Shama Parvin conducted inspections at Dinbazar, the wholesale market in the town.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee was unhappy with the rise in the prices of vegetables, especially potatoes, across the state. She instructed officials to release potatoes from cold storage to ensure a drop in the price.

Traders in Jalpaiguri had bought potatoes at Rs 23 per kg from the cold storage but the retail price touched Rs 35 per kg, said a source.

“However, as word spread about the raid by the DM, the prices came down immediately,” said a Jalpaiguri resident.

After the inspection, the potatoes were sold at Rs 30 per kg.

Officials of the agro-marketing department also seized 650kg of potatoes from the godown of trader Rakesh Shah as he was unable to produce any document regarding the purchase of potatoes. “I had purchased it from a farmer and how can I provide a document for it?” Shah claimed.

The district has 26 cold stores with a capacity to store 3.90 metric tons. This year,
the production went down by 10 per cent.

“The potato growers and traders faced massive losses in the past two years because of various reasons. They are probably trying to recoup the loss by increasing the rate right now,” said a source.

Kishor Marodia, coordinator, North Bengal Cold Storage Owners Welfare Association, said around 25 per cent of the potatoes had gone out of the storages so far. “Apart from the local market, the vegetable is also sent to other states. However, the steep rise in the retail price at the local market seems to have prompted the administration to take stern measures,” said Mardodia.