TAX FARMERS, WILL STRIKE: CONGRESS

Smuggled rice is a cheap mix

The Congress accused the Centre of “squeezing the poor” and threatened to launch a massive agitation if the government proposed to tax agriculture income. “Worrying days ahead!,” said AICC’s communication department chief Randeep Surjewala attacking the Centre.

Poultry farm owners and poultry feed manufacturers are major purchasers of rice smuggled from the Public Distribution System. Several tonnes of PDS rice are turned into poultry feed in special manufacturing units. Flour mill owners collude with the smugglers to produce poultry feed with PDS rice, which is the cheapest ingredient.

For the fourth time on Friday, city police busted a gang that illegally produced poultry feed using PDS rice and wheat. The gang that was busted by the Commmissioner’s Task Force, South Zone, included ration shop dealer A. Chandrasekhar, poultry farm owners P. Vinesh and Srinivas and flour mill owner Amir,

The police seized 300 bags of PDS rice, rice flour and wheat after raiding their godown at Jiyaguda in Kulsumpura.

Earlier, the Special Operations Team from Cyberabad had busted a racket that specialised in making poultry feed with PDS rice.

The gang used to mix sand, PDS rice, and husk to make duplicate poultry feed on a largescale on the city outskirts.

A manufacturing unit in Pahadi Shareef was allegedly selling the adulterated stuff to poultry farms across the state for a discount for six months before the gang was arrested

“A large quantity of sand is heaped up at the places along with husk. The PDS rice is smuggled into this unit. Workers from nearby village mix this with feed and sell it to poultry farms,” said SOT inspector Narsingh Rao.

It had come to light earlier that PDS rice smugglers and illegal liquor manufacturers had formed a new nexus.

Tonnes of diverted PDS rice was smuggled to the private beer factories.

According to the police, about 600 tonnes of subsidised rice is stolen every month and sold in national and international markets by the racket causing hundreds of crore loss to the exchequer.

ON FRIDAY THE city police busted a gang that illegally produced poultry feed using PDS rice and wheat and seized 300 bags of PDS rice, rice flour and wheat

IT CAME TO LIGHT that PDS rice smugglers and illegal liquor manufacturers had formed a nexus. Tonnes of diverted PDS rice was smuggled to the private beer factories