Telangana : Super-fine mess of negligence: Coarse rice worth crores rots in state godowns
Ration shops in Telangana face outrage as cardholders receive worm-infested and wet rice, with stocks worth crores spoiled due to negligence. Old coarse rice left for months contaminated new superfine rice, worsened by rains and damp storage. Dealers demand immediate government action, while officials promise to review damaged stock removal.
NALGONDA: Worm-infested rice bags, damp walls, and spoiled stocks — ration shops across Telangana have turned into dumping yards of negligence, leaving crores worth of rice unusable and cardholders fuming.
Since April, the state government has been supplying fine rice to ration cardholders. However, coarse rice left in shops earlier was not taken back for five months, leading to worm infestation.
The fine rice stock stored alongside it due to a lack of space also became contaminated. Recent rains further dampened village ration shops, causing bags of superfine rice to get wet and clump together. Despite this, the damaged rice is now being distributed to cardholders from September.
After the Congress came to power, superfine rice distribution began in April. Civil Supplies officials had promised to remove old stock but never acted, forcing dealers to store new rice alongside coarse rice.
While the April and May stock was cleared smoothly, the Centre later ordered a bulk release for June, July, and August. With many families collecting rations in urban areas during summer through portability, large quantities of rice piled up in Nalgonda district shops.
As distribution resumed, cardholders began receiving leftover and fresh stock together.
V Muthamma from Kanagal mandal expressing her objection stated, “We had just begun eating two full meals a day, but now we are being forced to consume wet, worm-infested rice. When I requested a replacement, the dealer refused, saying they cannot absorb the losses because the government won’t accept the damaged stock back.”
District president of the Ration Shop Dealers’ Association S Nagaraju said that 400 tonnes of coarse rice remain in 17,000 ration shops across the state for five months. He said repeated appeals to Civil Supplies officials had gone unheard, resulting in superfine rice also becoming infested. Nagaraju added that in several villages, lack of space forced dealers to stack bags in damp sheds, where rains caused further damage. He urged the government to immediately lift both the coarse and wet superfine rice.
In response, Nalgonda District civil supplies officer T Venkatesh said the issue of wet rice had not come to his notice. He assured that worm-infested bags would be taken back and added that the matter of removing coarse rice was under consideration by state officials.
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Source : The New Indian Express
