Rice Sent From Punjab To Arunachal, Nagaland, Assam Deemed ‘Unfit For Consumption’

CHANDIGARH: The political dispute between the Central Government and Punjab over the 'tardy' paddy procurement this season has now taken a new turn, raising questions about the quality of rice sent from Punjab.

According to media reports, “Samples of rice collected from the stock supplied to at least two consumer states (Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh) have either been found to be “unfit for human consumption or beyond rejection limit (BRL).”

A Punjab government official, requesting anonymity, revealed that the rice supplied to “Arunachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Assam, and Nagaland were unfit for human consumption." 

The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution has consequently written to the Food Corporation of India (FCI) to check the quality of grains stored in Sangrur, Jalandhar, and Nabha FCI districts, from where the stocks were sent to the recipient states.

Recently, 11,241 quintals of rice were sent to Dimapur (Nagaland) and Assam. On November 12 and 13, the samples of this rice failed the quality test. As many as 18 wagons with 23,097 quintals of rice were infected by insects. The fortified rice was also below standard.

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