Theft of Food or fooling of poor!

It is very hearting to read this column in today’s BL though the writer is himself is a retired civil servant!

Just see the below numbers:

• First, a few shocking facts, unearthed by a Parliamentary Committee: Between 1997 and 2007, 1.83 lakh tonnes of wheat, 6.33 lakh tonnes of rice, 2.20 lakh tonnes of paddy and 111 lakh tonnes of maize rotted due to either lack of storage facilities or poor maintenance of stocks in the existing facilities.

• As on January 1 this year, 10,688 lakh tonnes of foodgrains were found damaged in the depots of the Food Corporation of India (FCI), enough to feed over six lakh people for over 10 years.

• The storage losses of foodgrains in 2009-10 amounted to Rs 228.39 crore and transit losses another Rs 182.46 crore.