According to the Horticulture Minister, Dara Singh Chauhan, said that the bumper potato harvest in Uttar Pradesh has increased with the arrival of Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath. After this, UP minister said that there were 1,708 cold storages having a capacity of 130.26 lakh MT, which can accommodate 84 per cent of the potato produced. He said 120.29 lakh MT potato have been kept in cold storage this year. When the members said that potato farmers were forced to commit suicide, he said that there was no such incident.
However, SP (Samajwadi Party) member Shailendra Yadav found this statement absurd and claimed that out of the 325 legislators of the BJP and Apna Dal, 200 were “turncoats” who shifted loyalties during polls and such persons were giving absurd replies.
Earlier, the loan waiver announced by Yogi Adityanath covered small loans–Rs 1 lakh per farmer but Potato farmers had taken bank loan at Rs 1.5 lakh per hectare while for wheat farmers it was Rs 60,000 per hectare. In Agra district, the number of potato farmers is way more than farmers who grow wheat. And, under the farm loan waiver scheme, it is the farmers growing wheat who have largely benefitted. On the other hand, potato farmers, who have been ruled out of the scheme, continue to face the crisis.
Chauhan’s reply to a question on potato production evoked peals of laughter from members of the House.