Super-fine mess of negligence: Coarse rice worth crores rots in state godowns

WORM-infested rice bags, damp walls, and spoiled stocks — ration shops across Telangana have turned into dumping yards of negligence, leaving crores worth of rice unusable and cardholders fuming.

- A SESHACHARYULU @Nalgonda

Since April, the state government has been supplying fine rice to ration cardholders. However, coarse rice left in shops earlier was not taken back for five months, leading to worm infestation. The fine rice stock stored alongside it due to a lack of space also became contaminated. Recent rains further dampened village ration shops, causing bags of superfine rice to get wet and clump together. Despite this, the damaged rice is now being distributed to cardholders from September.