FOOD FOR ROT
Hundreds of kg of cereals rot after they fall on and off platform at Kankaria railway yard; poor people from the neighbourhood and cattle feed off this grime-mixed grain
Yogesh Avasthi
Posted On Saturday, July 20, 2013
Yogesh Avasthi
Posted On Saturday, July 20, 2013
While the nation struggles to make food available to its poor and the Union government comes up with an ordinance to ensure food for them, grain that could feed hundreds gets wasted at the Kankaria railway yard every month. Also, a part of the hundreds of kg of grain that fall on and off the platform is collected by some people who after cleaning it pass it on for human consumption. An official of Food Corporation of India (FCI) at the yard denied any loss of grain, but sources said this was because contractors repackage the wasted grain along with grime and dust to make up for the tonnage loss.
Scores of goods trains arrive at Kankaria railway yard every month where about 250 labourers work round the clock through the week unloading the consignment and then reloading them into trucks to be dispatched to their destination. But in the process sacks get torn and a huge amount of grain falls on the platform. Part of it is collected by the contractors and sent to the destination after repackaging, but a major part of it rots or is consumed by cattle.
Ghee and other milk products, cement, coal and cereals are among the goods that arrive at the yard regularly. Among the cereals, wheat, rice and maize are brought in mainly from Punjab, Haryana and Bihar. While wheat and rice consignments are for Food Corporation of India (FCI), maize is meant for a starch company. Sources in the yard said FCI brings in four to six racks of wheat and rice every month. Each rack has at least 2500 tonnes of cereals. The yard receives 12 to 15 racks of corn every month. These racks are emptied on one of the four platforms.
Two of them have RCC floor and the other two have mud floors. A visit to the yard showed grain hundreds of kg of grain strewn all over the platform as also by the tracks. It being monsoon, water accumulates and grain rot, giving out strong stench. Said a contractor on the spot, “When we unload consignments, many sacks are either already torn or get torn. If they are unloaded on RCC platform, cereals that fall down could be salvaged, but if the train halts on the kutcha platform, it becomes difficult to salvage all the wasted stuff.”
Sources said labourers fill sacks with these grain mixed with dust to make for the load lost. Also, some people living nearby collect it and retrieve part of it for consumption. On the massive wastage of food grain, Ahmedabad Divisional Railway Manager Alok Tiwari said, “We are only carriers and hence responsible for transporting goods. Loading and unloading them is the lookout of the parties concerned.
Yet, as any loss of grain is the nation's loss, we will look into it and take necessary steps.” FCI Movement Manager Rakesh Meena denied any loss of grain. “We spread polythene sheets on the platform before unloading our consignment. Some grain do fall out, but contractors collect it. Thus the loss is almost negligible.” Mirror correspondent found the yard to be not barricaded properly.
Cattle and dogs could enter the yard easily and some of them were seen sitting on and feeding off it. Amid this disturbing sight, two 10-year-old girls who identified themselves as Savita and Rekha were collecting the grime mixed grain to take it home. They said they put the grain through a sieve to get it rid of pebbles. Then they wash it to make it free of dust, cement, cow dung, etc. After this the grain becomes edible.
This correspondent also found a man in his mid 30s collecting grain in bags and transporting it in an autorickshaw with the help of an aid. Identifying himself as Farooq, he said they had come to the yard to collect the wasted grain which they feed the cattle. When taken into confidence, he said they also retrieved grain and passed it on for human consumption.
