According to Civil Supplies Department around 40 metric tonnes of tur dal and sugar was spoilt and became unconsumable. The said provisions were under civil supplies and were stored at the Cortalim godown during the Covid pandemic.
During Covid time there was huge demand from citizens for dal and sugar as markets were closed and provisions were hardly available. It is very unfortunate to hear that crores of rupees have been wasted on these provisions.
It is pertinent to note that MLAs distribute a bag with rice, dal and oil during festive season to their constituents but failed to provide the same during pandemic. The stored items could have been distributed to poor and needy people.
It is understood that some stock of rice, dal and other items generally tend to get spoilt during the monsoon. But such a huge quantity of dal and sugar getting spoilt is criminal.
Ideally, the concerned officials should have made adequate provisions to take care of the stock during the monsoon. Some sort of plastic bags or plastic sheets could have been used to protect the stock from the rains so that this situation could have been avoided.
This is tax payer’s money and the persons responsible for this criminal wastage should be made accountable.
