With glut staring, Punjab says 'eat more potatoes'

Chandigarh, April 11: Over the next few weeks, people in Punjab and even neighbouring areas could well be on a potato diet. Forced by a glut of potato crop, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has directed officers to increase the use of potatoes in the cooked meals supplied under various government programmes. The use of potatoes in the midday-meal scheme for school students, covering 1.6million pupils, would be encouraged following this fiat, a senior Punjab government officer told IANS. Even as a majority of the farmers in Punjab are staring at lower output of wheat and other crops due to the damage done by unseasonal rains, potato growers in Punjab are facing a problem of plenty. Punjab has produced about 2.26 million tonnes of potatoes in the current season. With a good potato crop in other parts of the country, Punjab farmers are facing the pinch.