 S Tahir-ul Haq
Early Times Report
BARAMULLA, Mar 3: Around 15,000 quintals of rice are rotting in Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs (FCS&CA) go-down at Hygam-B in Sangrama constituency of this north Kashmir district since 10 years and the concerned authorities are in deep slumber.
A team of media persons visited the area after they were called by the villagers to take notice of negligence of the authorities concerned.
The concerned department neither distributed the rice among the poor masses nor was it dumped and with the result there is a chance of outbreak of diseases, more the miniscule wastage of food grain is a crime.
"The awful condition of single storey building in which the food grain was stored is a telltale sign of why there is a massive wastage of food grain in the godown," said local residents. They said the stock was lying from more than 8-10 years in the go-down and the concerned authorities have failed to clear the store.
Javid Ahmad, a local resident said that according to FCI guidelines, food grains should be stored in covered go-down or properly stacked on wooden crates with waterproof sheets on them. But the situation is altogether different as hundreds of bags in go-down were uncovered; with the result all food grain bags got damaged.
The warehouse had no wooden crates, wooden mats or polythene sheets to prevent migration of moisture from the floor. The sacks were not piled up properly to prevent decay; the bottom sacks were kept on the floor, said Javid. Most people believe that the ration would have been distributed among flood sufferers but that was not done.
Mohammad Akbar, a local resident of Hygam said that, the area is under threat as stink is emanating from the go-down and it could lead to spread of diseases in neighboring area. During rainy season, it become difficult to move from the area, as commuters especially school going children have to cover their faces due to foul smell in the area, he said.
He said that there is a pungent smell of rotting food grains that was emanating from the huge go-down, spilled rice bags, a pall of dust shows that it was thrown open for birds to taste the food, but one can understand that they may also fallen sick due to callous attitude of the authorities. |
