Vijayawada: Told people- Do not sell rice of public distribution system

Vijayawada : Sting that the government was supplying quality rice to the people through the public distribution system (PDS), civil supplies commissioner H Arun Kumar urged them not to sell or divert the fortified PDS rice as it contains folic acid and iron which are good for the health of the consumers. The commissioner further said that they were distributing 2.35 lakh metric toone (MT) rice to the 1.46 lakh rice card holders across the state every month. The civil supplies department organised a cooking contest with the support of ICDS (Integrated Child Development Services) and DRDA (District Rural Development Agency) to create awareness on the benefits of the PDS rice among the public in Vijayawada on Friday. DWCRA, Anganwadi and ration shop women participated in this contest and made over 75 rice recipes with PDS rice. The commissioner visited the contest along with NTR district collector S Dilli Rao and joint collector Dr P Sampath Kumar and tasted the recipes. Speaking on the occasion, Arun Kumar said that the PDS rice which is being supplied by the government should be completely utilised by the consumers and added that it was the main aim of the government. He said that some of the card holders were giving this rice to the others due to misconceptions. Hence, the department was organising these type of cooking contests to create awareness among the public. Commissioner Arun Kumar observed that snacks and dishes prepared with the PDS rice during the contest were mouthwatering. The PDS rice is not only for rice, it can also be used for making various rice recipes, he added. NTR district collector Dilli Rao said that the state government has been supplying the PDS rice to the card holders’ doorsteps through the Mobile Dispensing Unit (MD) by strengthening the PDS system comprehensively. He said that the authorities were supplying PDS rice to the 5.89 lakh card holders to the extent of 8,500 MT rice per month in the district. The collector also said that they had taken steps to complete the issue of ration rice within one week of every month. District civil supplies manager Venkateswarlu, DSO Mohanbabu, ICDS project director G Umadevi and others accompanied the commissioner.