Congress urges to retain wheat quota for Andamans

Port Blair, Aug 31: The Congress has urged Union Minister of Agriculture Sharad Pawar for retaining the quota of 500 quintals of wheat for tsunami hit Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The quota has been reduced by 50 per cent recently for all the states, including these remote islands.

"The Ministry has reduced the quota considering the availability of wheat, but this remote archipelago should be considered in a different manner," Kuldeep Rai Sharma, president of Andaman and Nicobar Territorial Congress Committee told sources

Sharma said Andaman and Nicobar is a mini-india where huge numbers of North Indians are living. Some of them are permanent inhabitants, while some are here with their job on transfer from various governmental and non-governmental firms.

"They need regular supply wheat and reduction of quota is a problem for them," he added.

The lush green Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar are centrally governed and for every necessary thing these islands are depended on mainland of India.

Climatic conditions in these islands do not favour cultivation of wheat.

"There is no production of wheat in this territory and the consumers are solely dependent on wheat allotted by the government of India," Sharma said.

UNI