Truckers protested conduct of FCI
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, March 02 2011:
Decrying the conduct of the Food Corporation of India (FCI), which is under the Union Ministry of Consumers' Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, truckers engaged for transportation of the food items of the Corporation today revolted.
Unhappy over the conduct of measuring the weight by FCI, the truck drivers protested at the godown of the Corporation at Sangaiprou today afternoon.
Talking to mediapersons, some of the agitated truck drivers alleged that the staff tampered the electronic weighing bridge and beam scale installed in the godown.
In addition to this, staff of FCI have been charging Rs 20 from every trucks carrying food items as entry fee to the godown, Rs 50 for weighing and Rs 100 as labour charge.
Such arbitrary manner of imposing undue fee is not acceptable to the drivers, they added.
However, officials of FCI has refuted the charges of tampering the weighing machines asserting that the electronic weighing bridge could not be tampered at all.
After the weight of the loaded truck is recorded in the weighing bridge, the goods are unloaded and the weight recorded again with the help of a simple beam scale.
So, there can be no question of differences in the weight, the officials explained.
Moreover, in case of any complaint, it is experts of the Weight and Measures from either the Centre or the State who are authorities to decide on the matter, the officials added.
After a joint inspection of the weighing machines by experts from related Department of the State Government in the presence of the agitated drivers and FCI officials, the situation came to normal and unloading of food items in the godown resumed.
Nonetheless, the authority admitted that the weighing bridge of the FCI was out of order since February 28, compelling the transporters to wait for unloading the content.