Owaisi Supports Ban on UP Potatoes in Telangana, AIMIM Likely to Face the Wrath in Elections

The All India Majlis-e-Ittihadul-Muslimeen Party, based in Hyderabad, and its President Asaduddin Owaisi are likely to suffer as a result of Telangana's prohibition on the trade of potatoes from Uttar Pradesh. 

Potato growers are angry with Owaisi because he appears to have supported the Telangana Government's prohibition on potato imports from the election-bound state. From mid-October through early November, farmers seed the crop. Only a third of the potatoes harvested between February 20 and March 10 are sold at the time of harvesting. The remainder of the harvest is put into cold storage, and sales are staggered until November. 

Crops that are less than 60 to 75 days old should not be stored in cold storage for more than 9 months at a temperature of 2-4 degrees Celsius. 

“How can he campaign here while supporting a government that has prohibited admission of our potatoes there?" asked Mohammad Alamgir, the secretary of Aloo Utpadak Kisan Samiti, in response to  Telangana's prohibition. 

"The potatoes now coming from UP are the crop of previous year, preserved in cold stores," Telangana agriculture minister Niranjan  Reddy said, “Why should we eat this when Telangana's newly picked potatoes are arriving at the Rythu Bazar vegetable markets?" 

Telangana is currently aiming to cultivate potatoes on around 3,500-4,000 acres as part of the state government's objectives, with an emphasis on the Zaheerabad area of the Sangareddy district. The southern state's demand for crop diversification stems from the central government's refusal to acquire paddy in November of last year. Potato growers in Uttar Pradesh have faced difficulties as a result of this change.