Commission to recommend supply of boiled rice

Dr N Krishnamurthy, chairperson of the State Commission for Food and Civil Supplies, said that the Commission will recommend to the state government to supply boiled rice to ration cardholders in three districts.

The cardholders in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Uttara Kannada districts are to get the supply, said the chairperson.

He was addressing a meeting of officials in the city on Saturday.

“North Karnataka and the dryland districts are getting supply of five kg rice, two kg ragi, jowar or wheat per family member (unit) of the ration cardholder. In Dakshina Kannada, in contrast, only seven kg rice is being supplied per family member. There is, however, a demand for the supply of boiled rice among the ration cardholders in the district,” said Krishnamurthy.

The available boiled rice is supplied to hostels run by the government, he added.

Keeping in mind the demand of the people in the district, the Commission will bring the issue of supplying boiled rice to the ration cardholders to the notice of the state government, he informed.

“The members of the Commission, in the last three days, visited the Health Department, the Women and Child Development Department, and inspected the food being supplied for the midday meal schemes in schools and hostels. The officials have been asked to set right the shortcomings that were found during the visit,” the chairperson stated.

The chairperson said that he would direct the fair price shops run by cooperative societies to remain open on Sunday. This, in turn, will benefit the labourers.

“On the direction of the deputy commissioner and the Zilla Panchayat chief executive officer, the officials should implement the Food Security Act effectively in the district,” he added.

Further, Krishnamurthy said that the demand for
tur dal is low in Dakshina Kannada

“The fairprice shopowners have brought to our notice that many ration cardholders in the district do not purchase tur dal. There are chances of the ration shop owners misusing the unsold tur dal. The ration cardholders can be supplied additional rice instead of tur dal,” he told the officials.

He also urged the officials to ensure that the government schemes reach the last stratum of the society in the district.

“There are very few instances of malnourished children in Dakshina Kannada. The Commission members visited a centre for counselling of malnourished children at the District Wenlock Hospital. As many as 55 children have undergone treatment at the centre, of whom 51 children have already recovered while four other children are recovering,” said the chairperson.

“The members also inspected the weights and measures in fairprice shops and retail
merchants. There was a loophole in those used at a shop in the district. The officials have been instructed to set it right immediately,” said Krishnamurthy.

Commission members Mohammed Ali, V B Patil, Manjula, Deputy Commissioner Sasikanth Senthil and
Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer Dr Selvamani and others were present at the meeting.