4 lakh wheat bags stored in open rot, FCI rejects stock; Procured from 2009-13; Punsup official admits to poor upkeep

4 lakh wheat bags stored in open rot, FCI rejects stock

Procured from 2009-13; Punsup official admits to poor upkeep

Rotten wheat lying in an open godown in Muktsar on Monday. Tribune photo

Archit Watts

Tribune News Service

Muktsar, April 13

Tonnes of wheat stored by Punsup has decayed in the district due to poor upkeep and lack of proper storage facilities. Most of the wheat was lying in the open.

A huge stock of foodgrain procured by the agency between 2009 and 2013 has got infested. The situation is grave in private godowns hired by Punsup on the Malout and Ballamgarh Roads here.

Most wheat bags there are torn and damp. The colour of the grain has turned black. With no one to look after the stock, birds and insects feast on it.

The central foodgrain procurement agency, Food Corporation of India (FCI), has rejected it for sale. A staff member at a godown said: “Barring wheat procured last year, all other stock has decayed. It is unfit for human consumption. Its storage is a burden on the state exchequer. It will fetch a negligible amount. Liquor manufacturers will buy it at a very cheap price.”

He said the damage had been caused by rainwater because sometimes the wheat bags were not covered with tarpaulin sheets.

Gauarv Ahluwalia, District Manager, Punsup, said: “I cannot comment on the matter as I have assumed the charge a few days ago.”

Gurpreet Singh Cheema, Inspector, Punsup, Muktsar, admitted that the FCI had rejected the wheat procured between 2009 and 2013 and stored in the open godown on the Ballamgarh Road. He further blamed the long storage period and poor upkeep.

“Pungrain will now float tenders to sell this rejected lot of wheat. Nearly 4 lakh wheat bags stored in the godown on the Ballamgarh Road have got damaged,” said Cheema. He said the government had instructed officials to store fresh wheat only in godowns where no old stock was lying.

In the past, ration depot holders in Gidderbaha sub-division had refused to procure wheat from Punsup alleging that the agency was supplying substandard wheat to them under the public distribution system.

Courtesy: The Tribune