Sikkim Agriculture Minister Somnath Poudyal on Friday visited Rangpo and Singtam bazaars in East District and took stock of the availability of organic vegetables in the towns.
He also interacted with the vegetable vendors and apprised them on the State government move to ban sale of inorganic vegetables and encourage large scale organic cultivation in the State itself.
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Poudyal also urged the vendors to cooperate and maintain calm till the situation normalizes.
Poudyal also held a meeting with the vegetable vendors where he deliberated on problems in supply, price and market issues after the ban.
Earlier on Thursday, vegetable vendors of Lal Bazaar took to the streets demanding that the concerned authorities make proper arrangements to ensure supply of organic vegetables to meet the demands of the capital consumers.
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Led by the All Sikkim Traders Association (ASTA) and Lal Bazaar Traders Association, a huge number of vegetables vendors and dealers protested and marched till Krishi Bhawan, the Agriculture Department office at Tadong. They demanded that adequate vegetable supply must be ensured not just in Gangtok’s Lal Bazaar, but to all vendors across the State with immediate effect.
Ban a progressive decision: The ruling Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) government said the ban on sale of non-organic vegetables and fruits in the State since April 1 was a ‘progressive decision’ in the interests of the people and farmers of Sikkim.
The ruling maintained that the State must be made self-reliant in the vegetable sector.
The ruling front informed that the State government is working on a war footing to construct ‘kishan bazaars’ in every urban centre of the State.