PDS rice sold under the brand name “Shree OM”

Bhubaneswar: The Central consumer welfare department has blamed the state government that the rice which is supplied to the general public is animal food.  The Cuttack district Congress president did a press conference on this regard and the state student congress staged a protest against food supply and consumer Welfare minister Ranendra Pratap Swain. 

Cuttack district Congress president Manas Chowdhury alleged that PDS rice was now being sold in the market by the mill owner and the supply department. The rice found in the market under the 'Shree Om' brand in Sundargarh district is said to be PDS rice. The rice packet doesn’t contain the address of any organization, the date of preparation and the batch number.  

The company's GST number, the license number of the Department of Food Supply and Consumer Welfare, and the Government of India's Food Safety and Standards must be mentioned on the packet. But the incomplete packet details are being questioned by the general public. Therefore, it can be concluded that PDS rice is being smuggled into the market in Sundergarh district.

Some mill owners in the district have sent the rice to the market for selling. The rice sector is accused of embezzling 3,000 quintals of PDS rice a month from the supply department and this rice can be included in it. Shopkeepers selling rice under the brand name "Shree Om" can give specific addresses of millers.

It is pertinent to mention here that the state government has allowed 16 rice mills in Sundergarh district to process PDS rice. The government has also given a 50 per cent waiver for the establishment of the rice mill. For this very reason, mill owners are only required to make rice for the state government. But the mill owners are buying rice with the help of brokers and selling it in the market.

They are buying rice with the help of brokers at lower prices from farmers who cannot sell rice because of the covid-19 lockdown enforced by the government. The mill owners, are mixing both the rice and selling it under the brand name 'Shree Om', according to the Sundergarh district market.

Cuttack district Congress president Shri Chowdhury said thefood supply department should be protected from fraudulent mill owners and the consumer welfare minister should take immediate action against the mill owners to ensure the transparency of their department.