Rice stock not available in some ration shops in Karimnagar

By Raghu Paithari

People in parts of the erstwhile Karimnagar district are facing inconvenience due to non-availability of rice in several fair price shops.

Though distribution of rice typically begins in the first week of each month, rice stocks have not reached some ration shops even by now, forcing beneficiaries to make repeated rounds of these shops.

A shortfall of transport vehicles is said to be the reason behind the delay in supply. Sources said that due to recent unseasonal rains, the State government had accelerated paddy procurement and diverted all available lorries for transporting paddy to rice mills.

There were incidents where harvested paddy, exposed to rain, gained weight due to water absorption. Coupled with delays in moving the crop to rice mills, this led to bottlenecks in procurement. To address the situation, all transport vehicles were reportedly engaged exclusively for paddy movement, resulting in a shortage of lorries for rice distribution to ration shops.

Normally, rice is dispatched soon after orders are placed, but this month’s distribution has been delayed.

In Karimnagar town, the fair price shop in Godamgadda area has remained shut for the past few days due to lack of stock, forcing people to return empty-handed. In Ghambiraopet mandal of Rajanna-Sircilla district, rice has not reached the ration shops yet.

Speaking to Telangana Today, a ration dealer said there has been a strong demand for the fine variety rice. “Even those who used to skip collecting rice are now taking it without fail,” he said.

Ration distribution data (monthly)

District Ration Cards Beneficiaries Shops Rice (MT)

• Karimnagar 2,75,320 8,45,761 566 5,074
• Peddapalli 2,19,952 6,21,836 413 4,013
• Jagtial 3,07,000 8,91,000 592 5,500
• Sircilla 1,73,745 4,97,103 345 3,250

This article has been republished from The Telangana Today.