Vijayawada: Despite frequent checks by various departments, fair price shops in the city continue flouting norms at different levels. The recent cases filed by the legal metrology sleuths in Krishna district show that the violation of norms is still rampant. While the illegal transportation of Public Distribution System (PDS) rice has turned into an organised smuggling across the state, the dealers in shops are also resorting to malpractices in terms of weights.The legal metrology sleuths have booked 16 cases against the fair price shops in Krishna district, while nine cases were pertaining to short deliveries. The shortest delivery, reported so far, was that the buyers got deprived of one kg in every 15 kg rice. The deputy controller of legal metrology P S R N T Swamy said that the consumers should monitor when rice or other products are being weighed at the fair price shops and in case of any discrepancy, they should inform the legal metrology officials or call 1100.Meanwhile, the PDS rice is being smuggled to third world countries and the organised rackets are working from Guntur, East Godavari, Krishna and West Godavari districts to divert the subsidised rice and exporting to African and Middle Eastern countries. The Andhra Pradesh State Food Commission (APSFC) has taken the case on sue moto basis and ordered a probe into the issue. The APSFS chairman, J R Pushparaj said that the PDS rice is being exported from Kakinada port and as the vigilance has been increased, the smugglers are now shifting their operations to Krishnapatnam port these days.Pushparaj said that though the government has taken measures to fix pilferages, the perpetrators are somehow managing to divert the PDS rice. It was observed that people who take subsidised rice are exchanging it in fair price shops with the one they eat. “We have suggested the government to procure the rice variety that people eat, instead of procuring the one largely available in the market. We have asked the agriculture department also to encourage the farmers to cultivate the varieties that people commonly eat” he said.

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