GSS alleges irregularities in Food and Civil Supplies department

Our Correspondent

Silchar, May 1: Grahak Suraksha Samiti (GSS) convened a consumer awareness meeting at Purandarpur village under Cheyri GP recently under the chairmanship of Dhanjay Das, president of the committee of the area.

At the very outset, the secretary, Manjur Ahmed Laskar, mentioned the very aim of holding the meeting, condemning the inordite behaviour of the inspector of Food and Civil Supplies (FCS) department, Ashok Das. He said that no language is suffice to express the unpardoble behaviour of the inspector.

The secretary said, on February 19, the people of the locality had organized a mass sigture drive against the corruption of the public distribution system (PDS) shop owners, Kritish Das and Tombi Singh, and submitted the complaint letter to Ashok Das against them. But surprisingly, it came to the fore that three weeks before the complaint was submitted, the two dealers had already been temporarily suspended by the inspector without following the departmental procedure. As per the rules, it is mandatory to mention the memo number while taking such steps, but the suspension order was released without any memo number and also before receiving any complain.

 The secretary further said that, such irresponsible act of the inspector has jeopardized the people of Purandarpur, who have been thrown into a deplorable condition. In this context, the local committee members took suggestions from Biplob Kumar Goswami, secretary of the central committee of GSS, who advised them to assemble in the office of the Food and Civil Supplies on April 20. Goswami also said that the actions taken by the inspector is nothing but a concocted and preplanned drama to misguide the common people.

 The matter was brought to the notice of the departmental head, Manoj Kumar Bora, who was shocked and stunned when the things were brought to light and summoned Ashok Kumar Das. In presence of the departmental head, Goswami asked Inspector Das, of who has empowered him to harass and deceive the consumers? He also wanted to know who has given him the power to ignore the fundamental rights of the villagers. The inspector failed to answer any of the queries satisfactorily.

 Goswami said such an inefficient person cannot hold any responsible post and if necessary the Samiti would go to court to demand justice. Goswami said that, under the very tutelage of stake officials, the allotments of rice for APL, BPL and Antodaya An Yoja (AAY) are being simply looted. The cooperative societies in hands and gloves with fair price shoppers are selling the rice, flour and kerosene oil in black markets. These allegations have been openly aired by Grahak Suraksha Samiti (GSS), Cachar. Biplob Kumar Goswami sought Bora’s intervention in the matter. Manoj Kumar Bora gave assurance of looking into the matter, but he declined to sack the inspector as the departmental head has no jurisdiction to do so.