Andhra Pradesh

Hoarding: 2 rice mills booked

NARASARAOPET: Continuing the raids on rice mills involved in hoarding and diversion of rice meant for public distribution schemes, sleuths of the Vigilance and Enforcement Directorate on Friday booked cases against two more rice mills at Narasaraopet town and Dondapadu mandals.

During the raids, the vigilance officials found that there was a variation of stocks in the two rice mills – Surya Rice Mill and Mahalakshmi mill. While there was excess of rice in one mill, there was deficiency in the other.

On Thursday, four special teams of Vigilance officials led by Vigilance DIG Balasubramaniyam and SP P.J. Victor seized 218 bags of rice illegally being diverted through tractors at Rupenguntla and Guravaipalem villages.

Based on their seizures, the Vigilance and Enforcement Department had submitted a report to Joint Collector recommending action against the erring rice dealers and the fair price shop dealers.

The successive raids brought to the fore the growing nexus between the rice millers and fair price shop dealers in both hoarding and diversion of rice and other essential commodities meant for distribution through public distribution system.

The FP dealers, it was learnt, had been clandestinely supplying ration slips to rice millers, thereby creating an artificial scarcity in the market.

There had been a series of raids on millers and FP dealers in Narasaraopet and Vinukonda divisions and the district administration had even taken action against seven officials belonging to the revenue and civil supplies departments.

Last month, a team of special party police and Civil Supplies officials from Guntur conducted surprise raids on two dal mills at Vinukonda and unearthed huge stocks of red gram, which was allegedly stocked beyond the permissible limit.

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