By IANS,
Agartala : The mountainous northeastern states are anxious over the delay by the central government in building buffer stocks of foodgrain before the monsoon, which is expected to hit the region within a week, a Tripura minister said here Friday.
“Due to shortage of rail wagons, the central government was unable to build buffer stocks of foodgrain in the northeast before the monsoon,” Tripura Food and Civil Supplies Minister Manik Dey told reporters, quoting from a letter of union Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Minister K.V. Thomas.
During the monsoon, road transport becomes difficult in the hills due to landslides, floods and various other calamities.
Every year, the central government takes steps to build buffer stocks of foodgrain in the northeast region before the onset of the monsoon to maintain an uninterrupted supply of essential items in the interior areas during heavy rains.
“Thomas has, however, asked the FCI (Food Corporation of India) to take urgent steps to build buffer stocks of foodgrain in all the northeastern states before the onset of monsoon,” Dey said.
The land-locked northeastern states have been largely dependent on supply of foodgrain from other states, specially Punjab and Haryana.
“The central government has been trying to solve the foodgrain supply problems permanently in the region and the FCI has undertaken projects to construct big food storage godowns in all the eight northeastern states,” Thomas told the Tripura minister in the letter.
“Thomas has, however, assured that the matter has been taken up with the railway authorities and the position was being regularly reviewed by his department. The FCI was trying to build sufficient stocks before the onset of the monsoon,” Dey said.