SRINAGAR: Member of Parliament Chowdry Mohammad Ramzan on Wednesday urged authorities to strengthen foodgrain transportation, storage, and the Public Distribution System (PDS), warning that inefficiencies and leakages are aggravating food inflation and hitting the poorest households hardest.
The MP was speaking at a high-level meeting on “Transportation of Foodgrains and Optimising Movement through Railways” in Chennai, attended by senior officials from the Centre, Railways, and the Tamil Nadu government, including Chief Secretary Thiru N. Muruganandam, FCI Chairman-cum-Managing Director Rabindra Kumar Agarwal, DG Priya Jacob, and Southern Railway Chief General Manager RN Singh.
Ramzan noted that Tamil Nadu remains a food-deficient State despite improvements in procurement and distribution, and stressed that similar logistical challenges affect Jammu Kashmir and other regions. He warned that any delay, diversion, or wastage of foodgrains exacerbates inflation and disproportionately affects vulnerable families.
The MP also highlighted anomalies in the ration card system, including duplicate cards and the exclusion of eligible families, and called for interim measures to provide entitlements until a fresh survey is conducted. He condemned recurring instances of rotten and damaged foodgrains, calling for zero tolerance towards negligence in storage, handling, and transportation.
Ramzan stressed the need to upgrade government godowns with scientific and hygienic standards, proper sanitation, pest control, and regular quality checks, alongside end-to-end monitoring to track foodgrains from procurement to delivery at fair price shops.
He raised concerns over diversion and pilferage in railway-based logistics, particularly by middlemen at siding points, demanding strict enforcement, accountability, and elimination of unauthorised sales. He also called for rationalisation of PDS allocations, which remain based on the outdated 2011 Census, to reflect current population realities and strengthen food security.
The MP concluded by urging authorities to ensure timely, transparent, and leak-proof delivery of foodgrains across all States, emphasising that strengthening foodgrain management is vital to curbing inflation, safeguarding the poor, and restoring public trust in the PDS.
All MPs present were accorded a warm welcome and felicitated by the senior officials in attendance.
