Guntur: 1,000 MTs PDS rice seized

Guntur: Minister for Civil Supplies Dr Nadendla Manohar inspected seven rice mills in Guntur and Palnadu districts on Thursday and seized 1,000 metric tonnes of PDS rice. He directed the officials to book criminal cases against the rice millers.

He made a surprise visit to Sri Lakshmi Ganapathi Rice Mill in Medikonduru mandal and noticed a PDS rice distribution van. He instructed the officials to seize the vehicle.

He expressed ire on the CMR Rice Mill management for burning the PDS rice bag tags after noticing him.

He instructed the police officials to take rice mill employees into custody and conduct an inquiry.

He inspected Vigneshwara Rice Mill and checked the rice bags and records relating to the stocks. He also verified weighment of the rice bags under the light torch in the rice mill. The rice bag contains 26 kg rice. Similarly, he visited the other four rice mills in Guntur and Palnadu districts.

He inspected Ramalingeswara Rice Mill in Sattenapalli and identified 100 metric tonnes of PDS rice in the mill. He questioned the Tahsildar Chakravarthi why he did not notice the PDS rice stocks in the rice mill.

He was accompanied by joint collector A Bhargava Teja and officials of Civil Supplies department, Weights and Measurements Department.