Rs 300 crore worth foodgrains lost in transit annually, as millions sleep on empty stomach

Foodgrains worth Rs 300 crore, belonging to Food Corporation of India (FCI), are lost annually during transportation or transit, according to a parliamentary committee report.

The report, states that around 0.28 per cent of the foodgrains are lost annually in transit and the financial worth of it is around Rs 300 crore.

The losses are attributed to poor quality of packaging, multiple handling, accentuated use of iron hooks to lift the bags, poor quality of wagons and inadequate security leading to pilferages. The committee has express concern at the losses and has called for various measures to prevent such losses. The committee has recommended steps to strengthen the storage and transport management system in order to minimuse the losses on the counts listed by it.

The government, on its reply to the committee has stated that the higher value of transit losses during 2020-2021 was because of the movement of higher quantity of foodgrains to meet the requirement of enhanced special allocations during the COVID 19 pandemic.