Amid war tensions, Mamata takes on essential vegetable hoarding practices, announces Sufal Bangla store expansion with fish sales

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee held a meeting on agri-marketing from Nabanna on Wednesday, announcing the launch of fish sales at Sufal Bangla outlets from today. She declared that 100 new outlets will be added, aiming for a total of 700 across the state. The initiative is intended to ensure availability of affordable vegetables, fish, and other essentials. “Rich people can buy from anywhere, but where will the poor go?” she said, while also announcing that 250 more Sufal Bangla shops will be set up.

Mamata Banerjee instructed all departments to remain vigilant against hoarding and black marketing. “No dealer should hoard goods,” she said, directing task forces to act against any such practices. She warned that if anyone is caught, the government will seize everything. The police have been told to monitor market activities, and municipal authorities have been directed to hold meetings regarding all municipal markets. She also emphasized the use of the state's 518 cold storages for proper storage of perishable goods, including fish and vegetables.

During the meeting, Banerjee noted that potato prices in Kolkata are currently ₹18 per kg, compared to ₹28 last year. She instructed that onion prices must not rise and called for control over the prices of ginger and garlic, which had spiked last year. Highlighting Bengal’s agricultural progress, she said the state did not earlier produce onions, eggs, or fish in large quantities, but the government has brought transformation. She also mentioned the approval of 1,300 onion storage units (piyajgola), government procurement of vegetables through 290 centres, and called for a cold storage facility for fish. The Fisheries Department informed the CM that Bengal is now number one in fish production.