Mamata Banerjee Calls On Govt To Enable West Bengal To Cultivate Poppy

Mamata Banerjee, the state's chief minister, has urged the Centre to allow poppy cultivation in the state, claiming that delicacies made from its seeds are essential to Bengali cuisine.

According to Banerjee, 'posto' or poppy seeds are expensive because they are only grown in a few states.

"'Posto' is a Bengali word. Why should it be grown in only four states? "Why not in West Bengal, even though it's on our menu every day?" she wondered.

"Why will we have to pay exorbitant prices for 'posto' from other states? Why won't West Bengal get permission to cultivate it? I will ask opposition members to write to the Centre about it," the CM said on Thursday.

The state has been attempting to obtain permission to cultivate the highly regulated crop.

"We stated that the state would cultivate it in agriculture farms. If we can grow poppies here, we will be able to get them for Rs 100 (per kg) rather than Rs 1,000. We must make decisions unanimously at times. ‘Not all poppies are drugs’," she claimed.

CM Mamata was discussing budgetary issues concerning the food and supplies department. The chief minister also stated that since the Centre provided tax breaks for 'basmati' rice, it should do the same for West Bengal's 'gobindobhog' and 'tulaipanji' rice varieties.

Sources- PTI

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