MOVEMENT OF FOODGRAINS TO NORTH EAST
FOUR RAKES PER DAY TO MOVE FOR
ONE MONTH
Four rakes of foodgrains per day
will be despatched to North Eastern region for a period of one
month for augmenting the stocks in that region. An assurance to
this effect was given by Shri Shanta Kumar, Minister of Consumer
Affairs, Food and Public Distribution to Shri Tarun Gogoi, Chief
Minister of Assam, who called on the union minister here today.
Shri Shanta Kumar took a review of the stock levels and the present
rate of movement to the North-eastern region and wanted the Railways
to accord top priority to the transportation of foodgrains to
the region.
Earlier, at a meeting held under
the chairmanship of Shri R.D. Kapur, Secretary, Food and Public
Distribution, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) was instructed
to maintain three months’ stocks in the north east and to fully
utilise the existing storage capacity in the region. It has also
been decided that new godowns will be constructed or hired as
per the requirements of FCI in the region. State Governments are
to identify suitable land at Dibrugarh and Silchar for construction
of new godowns.
The meeting also reviewed the stocking
of foodgrains in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir and urged
FCI to take necessary steps to augment the storage capacity in
these states.