Centre's early Onam Gift to Kerala: More Wheat

New Delhi, July 11 (UNI) The Centre today assured the Kerala government that the wheat quota to the state, which was cut by more than 27,000 tonnes last year, would be restored before Onam.

The assurance was given by Food and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar to state Food and Civil Supplies Minister C Divakaran, who met him this morning.

The Centre had cut the wheat quota to the state from 46,190 tonnes to 19,113 tonnes in June last year in the face of shortage of the foodgrain.

''Mr Sharad Pawar has assured me that the wheat quota will be restored as much as possible before Onam,'' Mr Divakaran told reporters after the meeting.

The restoration of the wheat quota will help the state tide over the present crisis in the public distribution system, he added.

Mr Divakaran also sought the Centre's help in increasing Food Corporation of India (FCI) godown facilities in Kozhikode, Palghat and Malappuram.

The Centre will also sanction funds for setting up a Food Research Institute at the Konni Indigenous Food Park, he added.

Mr Divakaran took up the state government's plan for the institute during his meeting with Union Food Processing Minister Subodh Kant Sahai also this morning.

Mr Sahai also assured central assistance in setting up modern slaughter houses in the state to increase production of meat products, he said.

''Eighty-five per cent of the people in Kerala are non-vegetarians,'' Mr Divakaran said.

The state Animal Husbandry department was preparing for a ''big change'' in Kerala to become self-sufficient in the production of dairy and poultry products.

At present, Kerala buys one crore eggs daily from Tamil Nadu and the quantity of milk supplied to the Thiruvananthapuram district alone from the nieghbouring state is 140,000 litres per day.

Under a new initiative of the state Poultry Development Corporation, free poultry will be given to 100,000 women in the state.

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