J & K to press for more foodgrains allocation

By Our Special Correspondent

JAMMU, APRIL 5. Jammu and Kashmir has taken up the issue of price hike with the Central Government as the people continue to protest against the increase. It has also urged the Centre to increase the allocation of foodgrains to the State.

The J & K Minister for Food and Civil Supplies, Mr Ajay Sadhotra, told The Hindu that the State Government was compelled to increase the prices after the Centre enhanced the same. Otherwise, it would suffer a loss of Rs 80 crores on subsidy.

The Minister said that he opposed the price hike in the recent conference of Food Ministers of the northern region and brought home the point that J & K was among the backward States which could not bear this ``brunt''. The Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah, would take up the matter with the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, and request special category State treatment.

He said Kashmir suffered more as a majority of the valley people consumed the IR-8 brand rice (mota chawal) the rates of the which had been hiked by Rs 4.35 a kg. There was a spontaneous strike against the hike and at may places the protesters clashed with police.

Mr Sadhotra has taken up the issue of decrease in the foodgrains allocation. He has sent a letter to Mr Shanta Kumar, Union Minister for Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution urging him to increase the allocations.

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Section  : Regional
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