India: Mamata Banerjee urges Center to allow poppy cultivation in West Bengal

Published 2023년 3월 10일

Tridge summary

West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, has appealed to the Central government to permit poppy cultivation in her state, arguing that poppy seeds are a crucial component of the Bengali diet and currently, they are expensive as they are grown only in a few states. She pointed out that the high cost of posto (poppy seeds) means West Bengal residents must purchase them from other states at inflated prices. Banerjee insisted that not all poppies are for drug use and proposed that the cultivation would be conducted in agricultural zones, promising to sell the produce at a reasonable price of Rs 100 per kg, in contrast to the current price of Rs 1,000 per kg. This appeal was made during her comments on the budget discussions related to the Food and Supplies Department, and she also requested tax exemptions for certain West Bengal rice varieties.

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Original content

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has urged the Center to allow poppy cultivation in the state, insisting that delicacies prepared with its seeds are integral to the Bengali cuisine. Banerjee said posto or poppy seeds are costly as it is cultivated only in a few states. Bengalis love posto. Why should it be cultivated in only four states? Why not in West Bengal, despite it being on our menu every day? she said. Why will we have to purchase postage from other states at high prices? Why will West Bengal not get permission for its cultivation? I will ask members of the opposition to write to the Center on it, the CM said on Thursday. The state has been trying to get permission for cultivation of the highly-regulated crop. We have said that the state will cultivate it in agriculture farms. If we can grow poppies here, we will get them at Rs 100 (per kg), instead of Rs 1,000. At times, we have to take decisions ...

Source: Economic times