JEYPORE: The Food Corporation of India (FCI) of Jeypore has returned over 800 quintals of rice to millers in the last three days citing sub-standard packing. Poor quality gunny bags used for packing rice has been cited as the reason. The gunny bags are supplied by the Odisha State Civil Supplies Corporation as per the direction of the State Government.
According to sources, it was decided that miller agents have to deliver 70 per cent rice quota to the Corporation and 30 per cent quota to FCI after procuring paddy from the farmers and the gunny bags for packing should be provided by the Food, Supplies and Consumer Welfare Department. The weight of the gunny bags should be between 546 grams and 580 grams.
But the gunny bags supplied by the department weighed less than 500 grams. Citing poor quality of the bags, the Control Quality wing of the FCI rejected the stock.
Meanwhile, the millers’ association of Koraput has appealed to the State Government and the FCI to consider the ground realities and allow them to supply rice with the available gunny bags.
Jeypore FCI Quality Control Manager Dilip Dash said, “We have rejected the rice stock of millers as the gunny bags weigh below 546 grams and it would be difficult to store rice in the godowns with such low quality bags.” The FCI would not compromise with the standard, he added.
Meanwhile, district civil supply sources clarified that the department had supplied the gunny bags to all districts and Jeypore office distributed it among the millers as per their requirement.