Port Blair, Mar 18: The BJP today demanded to include an equivalent quota of boiled rice for distribution to various categories of ration card holders of the A & N Islands under the PDS together with the existing quota of raw rice in the larger interest of the masses.
In a letter addressed to the Lt. Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the State General Secretary of BJP, Mr. Deepak Jha today said that the purpose of the Public Distribution System is to ensure food security and poverty alleviation by making available the essential commodities, especially food grains, at an affordable and uniform price at the doorsteps of the consumers, the only variety of raw rice being supplied to ration card holders in these faraway Islands has been a cause of huge concern.
“In a nutshell, the type of rice preferred by a vast majority of the population i.e. Boiled Rice is simply not distributed to ration card holders in these Islands. Consuming of raw rice by the poor section of people who all are having diabetic case may have to spend huge amount of their saving in medical treatment. As a result the needy section of the society do not have sufficient financial back ground to cope up the cost of medical treatment. Further a small move by the Administration can give a big relief to the poor section of the society,” Mr. Jha said in his letter.
He added that persistent consumption of the raw variety of rice (Kachcha Rice) is known to be one of the potent factors that lead to diabetes over a period of time, whilst it is also learnt that boiled rice (Pakka Rice) on the contrary is generally advisable for healthy consumption in coastal areas with maritime climatic conditions.
“This is also the reason why only boiled rice is consumed on a large scale in the coastal areas of southern, western and eastern India and there is a vast majority of people from those regions living in these Islands, as well. Besides, it is a herculean task for the deprived populace to deal with situations like diabetes above and beyond the curse of poverty that they are already wrestling with. This will also go a long way in making our PDS more efficient in practice across our Isles,” Mr. Jha added.
