BELAGAVI
When poorer sections of society are in need of rice for sustenance, procuring the essential food grains can be through various means, legal or otherwise.
Residents of Gundolli village and neighbouring villages, about 20 kms near Khanapur, took advantage of a mishap involving a Goa-bound truck loaded with 17 tonnes of rice and decamped with the entire stock on Saturday morning.
According to Nandgad police, a truck carrying 695 sacks of rice overturned after it hit a tree when the driver lost the control of the vehicle. The truck was carrying rice from Gangavati rice mills to be supplied to various wholesale and retail outlets in Goa.
“The truck (KA-22-5653) owned by Akbar from Gangavati was heading to Goa, when the driver lost control at a sharp curve and the truck overturned,” PSI Mahesh Awati told The Goan.
The poor villagers lost no time and rushed to the accident site, where they began looting all 695 bags of rice strewn along the road, with the helpless driver and owner remaining mute witnesses to the incident.
“The locals have looted almost all sacks of rice, including the grains that had fallen on the road. The truck has been completely damaged in the mishap and the damage is yet to be ascertained,” said PSI Awati, adding that the owner had insured the load and the truck.
Nangad police have expressed helplessness in recovering the rice sacks, claiming that it was difficult for them to recover the rice by searching each and every house in the surrounding villages.
