West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. File
| Photo Credit: ANI
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has urged the Centre to allow poppy cultivation within the State, insisting that delicacies ready with its seeds are integral to the Bengali delicacies. Ms. Banerjee mentioned ‘ posto‘ or poppy seeds are pricey as it’s cultivated solely in just 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 mentioned.
“Why will we have to purchase ‘ posto’ 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 Centre on it,” the CM mentioned on March 9. The State has been making an attempt 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 poppy in West Bengal, we will get them at ₹100 (per kg), instead of ₹1,000. At times, we have to take decisions unanimously. Not all poppies are drugs,” she claimed.
Ms. Banerjee was talking on Budget discussions relating to the Food and Supplies Department. The Chief Minister additionally mentioned that because the Centre gave tax reduction to ‘basmati’ rice, it ought to prolong related advantages to ‘ gobindobhog’ and ‘ tulaipanji’ sorts of rice produced in West Bengal.
