Agartala: Following landslides in Meghalaya affecting supply of essential items “a bit”, Tripura Food and Civil Supplies Minister Sushanta Chowdhury on Wednesday asked the traders not to create an artificial crisis of essentials items as people face trouble in such cases.
The normal supply of essential items – potato, onion, pulse and edible oil – has been hit in the state as landslides in Sonapur area of Meghalaya’s East Jaintia district bordering Assam blocked NH-6, a key road used to bring commodities to various northeastern states.
“Today, I held a meeting with the officials of the departments concerned and representatives of local markets to review the stock of food and other essentials. It appears the stock is at a satisfactory level but it is a fact that the supply chain is affected a bit by the landslides at Sonapur,” he said.
Chowdhury said he directed the traders not to increase the prices of essential items taking advantage of the situation.
“At present, the state has a stock of rice for 47 days, pulses for 42 days, edible oil for 112 days, potato for 47 days and onion for 42 days. The stock of sugar is for 35 days. So, there is no need to panic due to disruption on roadways,” he said.
Warning against any illegal move by the traders, Chowdhury said he has also spoken to the authority of Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) after an onion-laden wagon got stuck in Assam’s Gouripur.
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“The NFT assured me that the wagon will be reaching the state in the next two days,” the minister said adding that the state receives essential items via both rail and road.
Chowdhury also asked the traders to provide cash memos for each transaction to maintain transparency in the system.
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