Pasighat, Jul 13: The State Level Vigilance and Monitoring Committee has urged the  Arunachal Pradesh government  to ask the Ministry Food & Public Distribution to stop supplying expired and bad quality rice to the state with immediate effect. The Committee also suggested the Food Corporation of India authority to send a quality control team to the FCI Godown in Pasighat to verify the details of sub-standard rice available in the godown urgently.  

The matter of sub-standard rice at the Pasighat godown came to light after Chairman Anok Wangsa and member Nima Sange made an unscheduled visit on Tuesday to Mebo in East Siang to investigate a viral video on social media alleging sub-standard rice distribution to beneficiaries at the Fair Price Shop in Seram village of Mebo circle.

During investigation the FPS dealer Yung Tapang admitted that the rice issued to them was bad and not fit for human consumption and was supplied by the carriage contractor to the FPS shops of the locality. The carriage contractor Umesh Yadav also admitted that he used to carry the rice issued by FCI godown Pasighat therefore was unaware of the  bad quality of rice being distributed to the Fair Price Shops (FPS).

Following the revelation, the Chairman, member and DFCSO visited the FCI godown Pasighat from where rice is being distributed to six districts namely Lower Siang, East Siang , Leparada, Siang, Shi-Yomi and West Siang and met the godown incharge who at that time was supervising the unloading of rice trucks and enquired about the quality of rice. Surprisingly more than thirty bags of sub-standard/bad quality rice unloaded in front of our eyes at thevFCI godown Pasighat,  the committee said in a statement.

Wangsa and Sange instructed the  FCI Depot Incharge Pasighat to stop issue of sub-standard rice including repackaged rice bag to Arunachal Pradesh because consumers complain that the repackaged rice are found to be less in quantity and sub-standard.    

Considering the seriousness of the substandard quality of rice being supplied by the Food Corporation of                India to the state of Arunachal Pradesh, SLVMC urged upon the Government of Arunachal Pradesh to take up the issue with the Ministry Food & Public Distribution, Government of India to stop supplying outdated /bad quality of rice to Arunachal Pradesh with immediate effect. SLV&MC also suggested FCI authority to send a team of quality control to FCI Godown Pasighat to verify the details of sub-standard rice available in the godown urgently.