BENGALURU: The State Government has decided to distribute boiled rice (kuchalakki) under the Public Distribution System (PDS) to ration card holders of Uttara Kannada, Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts from January 1, 2023. Each family will get 5 kg of boiled rice every month. This variety of rice is the staple diet of people from the coastal region of Karnataka.
Social Welfare Minister Kota Shrinivas Poojari told reporters that this was a long-pending demand of people from the coastal districts who use kuchalakki on a daily basis.
The minister said paddy will be procured and processed to turn it into kuchalakki. According to the minister, they need at least 1 lakh tonnes of boiled rice every month to supply to the three districts. He said the Union Government has set a support price of Rs 2,040 per quintal of boiled rice. “The State Government too has announced support prices for some varieties of kuchalakki. We have set a target of procuring 13 lakh quintal of paddy and are confident of getting at least 8.5 lakh quintal of paddy. The State Government will be paying additional Rs 500,” he said.
The minister further said they need additional funds to procure karate uniforms for girl students. At present, they have already paid Rs 176 crore and as they are commencing karate classes for Class 6 students from this year, they need additional Rs 18 crore, he added.