New Delhi:
A day after NDTV highlighted the criminal waste of foodgrain at a time when millions are going hungry in the country, the Food Ministry has cracked down.
Three officials of the Food Corporation of India (FCI) have been suspended after an inspection which found foodgrain rotting in FCI warehouses in Uttar Pradesh. The FCI is responsible for the procurement and storage of foodgrain for distribution as ration.
The inspection team undertook the survey from July 14 and 18 and found that 30 tonnes of foodgrain was damaged in Hapur, 15 tonnes in Orai and 300 tonnes in Harduaganj. In all, foodgrain worth Rs 60 lakhs was damaged.
The inspection team also found that foodgrains in these warehouses were substandard.
A departmental inquiry has also been started after which the General Manager of the Northern Region has been asked to submit a report.
Also, the foodgrain from the railway tracks have been transported to the district storage.
A newly appointed FCI official has also been rushed in from Delhi to inspect and take charge of the district. He has ordered that no new supplies would be allowed for the next two weeks.
"I am very sure that in the next one and half to two years, we will be able to add another 150 lakh tonnes of storage capacity to the country. My only worry is that the procurement levels and the production of foodgrain levels in the country has to increase," says Siraj Hussain, the chairman of FCI.
NDTV carried a report on Tuesday which showed sacks of foodgrains meant for human consumption rotting at the railway tracks in Etawah and being eaten by animals. (
Read: Food meant for kids eaten by dogs in UP)