Criminal Negligence
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: May 07, 2013 -

Opening the first ever National Hybrid Rice Congress, which went on from April 3 to 5 this year at Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) in the Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija, noted Hybrid rice developer and 2001 Ramon Magsaysay awardee Chinese professor Yuan Longping had observed that rice wastage should be condemned and must be considered a crime.

"Rice wastage is criminal," he said, while reacting to a fact sheet circulated during the congress which said that about P6.2 billion worth rice is wasted in the Philippines annually when there are more than one billion people who go to bed hungry each night around the globe.

This was exactly how we felt over the news report of over 1000 metric tonne (MT) of rice procured by the Department of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution (DCAFPD), Government of Manipur from Food Corporation of India (FCI) for distribution among the poor and needy people leaving to rot in the godowns instead of distributing among the people, for whom the rice had been procured in the first place, and then trying to get rid of truckloads of stale rice quietly.

How could a poor State like Manipur, which depends on others for everything including food grain, afford to waste such a huge quantity of rice that could feed 1000 people for a year comfortably?

What was stopping the State Government and its Department concerned from timely distribution of the rice to the people? These are some questions that anyone who has read the news report would like to ask.

Indeed, it is criminal on the part of the Government of Manipur and more particularly the Department of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution to let the rice procured for public distribution go wasted due to sheer negligence and then dumped it like garbage when there are so many people in the State who can't even afford to have two square meals a day.

This is a serious issue that should not be brushed aside. This incident has proved beyond doubt that people are hungry not because there is not enough food, but because their rightful shares are being deprived. For the last many years, people in Manipur have not been getting their rightful share of foodgrain provided under various centrally-sponsored schemes.

Now, that it has come to light how the public distribution system (PDS) in Manipur has been functioning with the food grain procured for distribution among the people keeping in the safe custody only to be left in rot, public should raise their voice to make the responsible officers accountable for their criminal act of depriving their right to food.

And, if the Minister concerned has any conscience, then an inquiry should be ordered at once to find out how such a huge quantity of rice got wasted in the godowns.

In fact, the picture of the old man collecting a tinful of stale rice to feed his family from the truckloads dumped for disposal should be enough to move the heart of anybody.