Bhubaneswar, Dec 11: Deputy Chief Minister Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo criticized the previous government's potato mission in Odisha, stating it has failed and allowed the West Bengal government to engage in what he termed "petty politics" by supplying potatoes to Odisha. His remarks came during an Assembly session on Wednesday, in response to questions from MLAs Ashwini Patra and Ganeswar Behera.

Singh Deo clarified that many cold storages in the state have not been closed due to electricity shortages, as previously claimed. Instead, he attributed the closures to mismanagement, noting that the former BJD government had assigned control of these facilities to an economic group, which subsequently mortgaged them, leading to their shutdown.

In light of the challenges, the Deputy Chief Minister assured the Assembly that the government is exploring alternative farming diversification to enhance potato production. Plans are underway to construct 58 new cold storages, which will operate using both electricity and solar power, to effectively store the annual potato yield.

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