BHUBANESWAR: Odisha government constituted a State-level monitoring committee on goods and services to ensure normal supply of essential commodities from other states during the week-long lockdown.
The need for a monitoring committee was felt following confusion among transporters about movement of vehicles during this extraordinary situation arising out of ‘near total lockdown’ of about 40 per cent areas of the State.
"The committee will assess requirements and monitor flow of goods and take actions to remove bottlenecks if any. It will also provide a platform to facilitate traders and transporters to air their issues and resolve the same," said Chief Spokesperson of the government on COVID-19 Subroto Bagchi.
He said that there will be no restriction on movement of permitted goods, including coal and other minerals, to ensure smooth supply chain. All permitted goods vehicles will be allowed to move unhindered.
The State Capital being a major mandi for potato and onion, meeting the demands of Khurda, Nayagarh, Puri and part of Ganjam districts, any dislocation in the supply chain will press a panic button.
The Collector of Khurda has convened a meeting with representatives of Odisha Byabasayee Mahasangha on Monday to review the situation and take appropriate measures as per the requirements of the traders for normal flow of essential goods from other states.
"Odisha is dependant on other states for all essential commodities except rice. There is a lot of confusion among transporters of source states of various commodities about movement of vehicles during the lockdown period," said FAOTA general secretary Sudhakar Panda.
He said that transporters of other states are still not clear about Government’s regulation on movement of vehicles till March 29. The Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare department is required to clarify its counterparts of other states about movement of goods vehicles.
The Government on Sunday clarified that the wholesale markets will function 24x7 on rotation basis with time slotting for different wholesalers to operate to avoid over-crowding in the market.
Field functionaries of supply, police and transport departments have been instructed to ensure smooth movement of vehicles carrying permitted goods as per the lockdown order of Health and Family Welfare department.
SANJOG helpline (155335) will be utilised for registering and addressing all grievances by wholesalers and retail traders who face any problem relating to smooth supply and movement of permitted goods traffic.