No shortage of rice in Manipur: FCS Minister

Imphal, Jul 10 (UNI) Manipur Food and Civil Supplies (FCS) Minister Y Erabot has asserted that there was no shortage of rice in Manipur and said he had been personally supervising lifting of rice from the FCS godown here.

''There is a stock of 13,567,656 tonnes of rice at the FCS godown, besides 426.626 tonnes at another godown, 1480 tonnes at the FCI godown at Ukhrul and 1936 tonnes at the FCI godown at Jiribam,'' the Minister said.

The state government has fixed the prices at Rs 8.85 for APL rice, Rs 6.11 for BPL rice and Rs 3.37 for AAY rice.

''Fair price shops will be opened in all the 60 Assembly constituencies of Manipur,'' he said.

The Centre also sanctioned 8,000 quintals of rice as relief for the people whose crops had been destroyed by rodents due to bamboo flowering.

Some organisations had informed the Manipur government that the people had been facing artificial scarcity of rice in the market.

Besides, the people could not get superfine rice from the Targeted Public Distribution System.

The organisations claimed that they had surveyed the Imphal market and found that the common superfine rice was available at the rate of Rs 18 to 20 per kg which was also not in abundance.

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