The dirty trick
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: April 17, 2013 -

On December 12, 1939, several hundred of women came out of their respective houses and stormed at the office of the then Durbar President TA Sharpe, a British officer, to forbid export of rice from Manipur, and that was how the second Nupi Lan (Women's agitation) erupted in the State.

But today, the plight of Manipuri people have come to such a pass that they could not think of filling up their stomach if rice and other essential commodities were not brought in from outside. Could there be any greater irony than this?

On the other hand, Rice being the staple food in the menu of every family in Manipur, even transportation of the State quota of rice allocated under Public Distribution System (PDS) has become a big money spinning business for some unscrupulous individuals.

That is the reason why we keep hearing about various scams of rice either siphoned off or lost in transit in the State every now and then.

Of course, such scams have always been there, covertly or overtly; but continued deprivation of the basic food item and other essential items under PDS has made the people more aware of their rights more than ever before and today they sit up to take notice.

Interestingly, all these deprivations are taking place at a time when efforts are being made for the implementation of National Food Security Bill that aims to ensure right to food to around 67 percent of India's 1.2 billion poor.

Against this backdrop, the dirty trick that the transport contractors of FCI has been indulging in while lifting the allocated rice quota of the State under PDS from the FCI godown at Dimapur needs to pay serious attention.

It has come light that the transport contractors engaged for lifting the rice quota from the FCI godown at Dimapur have been selling off the rice at a premium price at Dimapur and other places and coming back loaded with other essential goods for earning extra money.

Upon reaching Imphal, what these transport contractors do is to gather all the available rice from the local market to be taken to the FCI godown at Sangaiprou as if these were the same rice bags that they have brought all the way from Dimapur.

As a result of this dirty trick, the available rice stock in the markets of Imphal has dwindled, and thus leading to a corresponding scarcity and increase in the prices of available rice in the local markets. From all likelihood, the crafty transporters have been indulging in this dirty trick for long.

Otherwise, there would not have been any question of rice disappearing from the market so soon when the harvesting season has been just over.

So, the failure of the officials and other staffs deployed in the FCI godown at Sangaiprou is unnerving.

Or, is it a case of being hand in glove with the crafty transporters for sharing the ill-gotten booty?

By the way, how the Super-fine rice, which is a PDS item and not supposed to be sold in the market, has found its way into the market?

The Minister in-charge should look into this matter as well if he could spare some time from singing paean over the changes brought in the education system.

With empty stomach craving for food, who would think of education?