Rice procured from one district won't be sent to another: Food dept

The decision of the Food department comes in the wake of complaints against quality of rice supplied to Nadia, from a neighbouring district.

State Food minister Jyotipriya Mallick has convened a meeting with dealer associations, distributor associations and rice mill owners from some areas of Nadia, Jhargram and South Dinajpur district, from where there have been complaints regarding quality of rice.

It may be mentioned that some districts, particularly West and East Burdwan, produce rice in abundance and there is excess even after meeting the requirement of the people. So, the Food department sometimes sends it to other districts, on the basis of requirement.

"From now, the excess rice will be stored and will be sent only to those places where the state government runs special package of food grains like the Aila affected Sunderbans, parts of Jangalmahal and some of the tea gardens in North Bengal," Mallick said.

It may be mentioned that soon after receiving complaints from as many as 11 ration shops at Karimpur in Nadia, as many as 558 quintals of rice were replaced on an emergency basis. "We have decided to strengthen our vigilance teams in all districts to ensure the quality of rice in all districts," a senior official of state Food department said.

Only the rice produced and procured from the farmers are supplied to the ration shops in the district. "If rice is stored for a period of more than six months, then there may be chances of deterioration of quality," the official pointed out.

There have been a few complaints in certain areas regarding the quality of atta as well. "The flour mills are not mixing iron and folic acid with the atta to increase its nutritional value. So, we are strengthening our vigilance," an official said.