Inquiry into alleged smuggling of rice

Statesman News Service

MALDA, Feb. 3: Huge quantities of rice which have been collected from Malda district is being allegedly smuggled into Bangladesh. The Malda additional district magistrate (general), Mr PC Shit admitted that he has heard about the matter. Mr Shit also said that a team from the enforcement department and some senior officials of the district distribution, procurement and food supplies department have started an inquiry into the allegation. The officials received the information recently, when they started procurement of rice for maintaining the stock. The rice is meant for the public distribution system. According to the Malda additional district magistrate, food officials have already started procurement of rice from the rice millers in this district based on government guidelines. It was decided that the government would procure 50 per cent of rice out of the total production of a miller. The food inspector would monitor the millers from time to time to know how much rice a miller is producing. Out of the total collected rice, the Food Corporation of India would get 60 per cent and the rest would be stored in the depot of the food and supplies department. The inspecting team has intercepted a rice-loaded lorry yesterday on its way to Mahadipur in English Bazaar, where the land customs station is located for export. The driver could not show valid papers. According to the direction of the inspecting officials and also of the additional district magistrate, the lorry was brought to the English Bazaar police station. The district's exporters’ coordination committee and the Malda merchants’ chamber of commerce yesterday sent a representation to the director general of foreign trade and alleged of unnecessary intervention in export and import by the BSF. They also said that the border security forces could not detain the lorry at the check post after customs clearance. The MMCC has also written a letter to the IG, South Bengal frontier BSF, against the 123-battalion BSF posted at the Mahadipur land customs station. The exporters’ body has sent the copy of the letter to the secretary of the ministry of commerce and industry and to top officials of the border security force in South and North Bengal frontier BSF.