State polls cost rice millers dear

The millers have stored the paddy in their respective mills and stores on the request of the Punjab government. They had been seeking a relaxation on Food Corporation of India (FCI) specifications regarding broken rice. FCI specifications do not allow rice breakage of more than 25 per cent while millers in the state were regularly churning out 30 to 45 per cent broken rice.

“Millers are requesting for relaxation of broken and damaged in rice because hot weather conditions at the time of ripening of paddy in state and mechanical harvesting had led to high percentage of breakage in paddy and it is not possible to deliver rice with old specification of the Government of India policies,” said the president of the Rice Millers Welfare Association (RMWA),Rakesh Jain.

The millers had wanted the state government to approach the Centre in this regard but claim that with the elections around,the political parties in the state were busy. Now,the presence of the model code prevents the government from taking any action. “This elections have cost us dearly as millers had been running from pillar to post since November last year to get relaxation in the specification but of no use as every one is making the excuse of election process instead looking for a solution,” Jain said.

“By the end of February,paddy worth Rs 11,000 crore must be milled according to the norms because the temperature would go up in the coming months. This would be harmful for the paddy grain stocked in the mills and it may get rotten,” he added.