Amid the growing indifference between the Telangana government and the Centre especially after MLC K.Kavitha – the daughter of Chief Minister K.Chandrashekher Rao was summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Delhi Liquor scam, reports of central government cut the PDS rice quota being distributed from fair price shops (FPSs) in the state came to fore that took the poor people by surprise.
The central government reportedly cut the rice quota from 10 kilogram to 5 kg on each member of the family that upsets the poor people who are until now getting 10 kg per person ever since the year 2020 when the lockdown was imposed after the outbreak of coronavirus.
Although the officials are attributing the cutting of quota to scarcity of rice in the market, some even point towards the brazen level of black marketing of the grain being distributed from fair price shops for free.
There were reports that poor people unhappy with the rice quality being distributed free from fair price shops are selling the rice to blackmarkitters especially in city outskirts from where the rice is being illegally transported to neighbouring states like Maharashtra and Karnataka where the grain is having high demand.
It was also learnt that the rice being distributed from the Civil Supply Department is reaching the black market through the illegal hoarding godowns on the city outskirts especially located in Kattedan and Tata Nagar areas under Rajendranagar in Rangareddy district.
Community activists, who are well aware of all the murky affairs prevailing in the civil supplies department are of the view that, the black marketers use childrens from poor families to transport the rice from ration shops or the FPs agents themselves purchase the grain from the beneficiaries and shifted it to designated godowns later. “What is more surprising is that the officials from the civil supplies department are reportedly aware of this and in some cases they themselves connived with the blackmarketters for selfish gain,” said Syed Shoukat Ali, a social activist.
