M A I N   N E W S

In Punjab, wheat worth Rs 800 cr goes waste annually
Prabhjot Singh
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 26
Antiquated food storage methods and technologies have been costing India dearly. The chairman of the Food Corporation of India (FCI), Siraj Hussain, admits that food worth Rs 50,000 crore is wasted every year. This comes roughly to 20 per cent of the total food produced by the country.

Though this figure includes food that is lost in processing, packaging, transportation and even marketing, yet a substantial portion of it is lost as rotten because of antiquated storage techniques.

In Punjab, wheat damaged annually due to improper storage has been assessed between Rs 500 crore-Rs 800 crore. Punjab procures about 90 lakh tonne of wheat and 125 lakh tonne of paddy every year. The present covered storage capacity of the state is only 30 per cent of the total food grains it has stacked in its godowns. For a couple of years, the state has been urging the Planning Commission to allow construction of silos for storing food grains scientifically.

Food Corporation of India has silos with total storage capacity of three lakh tonne in Moga. But the cost of storage in silos, constructed and maintained by a private company, is almost three to four times than the open storage (covered area plinth -- CAP).

A couple of years ago, Punjab had to auction huge the stocks of food grains that had almost become unfit for human consumption. Now, the state is pursuing the case for payment of the difference in the price at which the food grains were procured and the rate at which they were auctioned. The Food Corporation of India has asked for a complete report from the state.

Now, Punjab has proposed to construct two silos, with storage capacity of 50,000 tonne each, through open tendering for wheat storage. Insiders maintain that scientifically stored wheat can last four to five years while food stocks stacked in the open start rotting after 18 months. A survey conducted by The Tribune makes startling revelations.

Almost everywhere in Punjab, wheat stocks in the open have continuous exposure to moisture, making them vulnerable to fungal attacks. Grains start turning black. Unbearable stench emanates from these stocks.

Monsoon season makes it worse. Since these open godowns are located along national and state highways, they remain drenched in rain and flood waters not only for days but at times weeks together. Wooden plinths on which stacks of wheat bags are piled get saturated with water and the excess moisture by capillary action moves up to the food grains, making them highly vulnerable to attack by insects, pests and rodents. Huge stocks of wheat and paddy bags are rotting in open godowns at Ranwan and Kotla Bhaika villages of Fatehgarh Sahib. About 2.5 lakh wheat bags are rotting in Kotla Bhaika village and an equally large quantity of paddy lies dumped in open godowns near Ranwan.

Ropar district has a single godown at the backside of grain market, having 15,000 MT of wheat presently. Each FCI godown is designed to be 30 feet high wherein bags containing food grains are stacked up to a height of 25 feet, allowing the remaining 5 feet for workers for carrying out inspections. Open stocks are supposed to be protected from vagaries of weather, especially rain, by tarpaulin sheets. But wooden planks soak water and haphazard coverage of tarpaulin sheets leaves enough scope for water to seep in.

Besides rodents, pigeons and other birds, too, are a major nuisance for the staff put on duty at food godowns. Says Bhola Singh, a daily wager working at the Ludhiana’s Gill Road godown for the past 15 years, “We have to be on our toes to keep the pigeons from tearing the poly covers but they are dozens in number.”

(With inputs from Gurdeep Mann, Megha Mann, Anshu Seth, Sushil Goyal, Shariq Majeed, Gagan K. Teja, Ravi Dhaliwal, Neeraj Bagga and Chander Parkash)