Jaipur, March 31
Even as food prices are soaring all across the country and the poor are not getting two square meals a day, a Food Corporation of India (FCI) godown in Jaipur is storing liquor leaving out thousands of sacks of wheat to rot in the open for the past three months.

According to sources, 45,000 tonnes of wheat meant for public distribution system (PDS) supplies is lying at various places, including the Kanakpura railway station, near the FCI’s Gandhinagar depot while various sheds of the godown are storing liquor. At the Kanakpura railway station, wheat bags are lying on both the sides of the platform.

Sources said the FCI godown in question was let out to the Rajasthan State Breweries Corporation around three years back. The FCI has sent a movement plan of around 5 lakh tonnes of wheat, of which 3 lakh tonnes of wheat has already been received. In such a scenario, if the remaining wheat reaches the state and the purchase of new crop also begins, things could go from bad to worse.

Meanwhile, the issue has kicked off a blame game between the ruling Congress and the Opposition BJP. Rajasthan Minister for Civil Supplies Babu Lal Nagar claimed that it was the previous BJP regime, which let out the FCI godown to the Rajasthan State Breweries Corporation and since then it is being used to keep liquor.

On the other hand, the BJP passed on the buck to the Congress government, saying Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, who used to attack the previous BJP government’s liberal liquor policy, is now tightlipped on storage of liquor in the FCI godown.

The issue also rocked the Rajasthan Assembly today with BJP MLA Hanuman Beniwal raising it during the Zero Hour. He said the FCI godown had kept huge liquor consignments under tin sheds, whereas wheat bags were rotting in the open. He said stray cattle were eating the bags making the foodgrains unfit for human consumption and alleged that the state government was ignoring the matter by not ensuring any action.

With the issue causing a lot of hue and cry, the FCI has woke up to it and ordered that the liquor consignments be removed from its warehouse to stock foodgrains. FCI general manager (Rajasthan unit) ML Nagpal said the warehouses leased out to the Rajasthan State Breweries Corporation here were being vacated because of shortage of space to keep foodgrains. He justified the lease given to the state government undertaking, saying the premises lying empty were leased out all over the country as per its policy and refuted reports of any irregularities in leasing out the warehouses.