Guwahati: The supply of food grains to South Assam, Tripura and Mizoram has been sluggish due to Food Corporation of India (FCI)’s alleged lack of urgency in addressing the issue of food shortage.
“The FCI has not realized the emergency situation caused in South Assam as well as in parts of Mizoram and Tripura. We have noticed that the FCI has not taken proactive steps for supplying food grains meant for poor beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) and the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY),” said a local resident of Cachar on condition of anonymity.
Sources said although FCI has floated tenders for supplying food grains from multiple depots in Assam, nothing has been finalized yet.
According to sources, the FCI is currently supplying food only from the Changsari depot located on Guwahati outskirts.
“FCI should supply food grains in a war footing manner from multiple depots of Assam. The residents of the region will suffer acute food shortages,” said a source.
Surface links to south Assam’s Barak Valley and Dima Hasao district and to neighbouring Tripura and Mizoram remained cut off due to flash floods and landslides triggered by incessant downpours.
Roads, as well as railway tracks, were washed away by flash floods at multiple locations in Assam and Meghalaya.
Landslides in different locations in the Dima Hasao district disrupted road as well as rail connectivity.
Landslides and waterlogging on tracks in the Lumding-Badarpur section have snapped train communication to Barak Valley, Manipur, Tripura and Mizoram.
In Meghalaya’s East Jaintia Hills district landslides cut off-road communication to Barak Valley parts of Mizoram and Tripura.
This has caused an emergency situation in South Assam besides parts of Mizoram and Tripura and there is an urgent need for food grains.