Subsidized rice give Koraput villagers a miss

Koraput: As many as 110 beneficiaries of Dumuripadar and Kotaguda villages of Tentulipadar panchayat under Maoist-hit Narayanpatna block in Koraput district have not received their quota of subsidized rice since January.
The beneficiaries alleged that they have brought the matter to the notice of the officials, but to no avail. "We are forced to purchase rice from market at a higher price," said Site Mandi, a villager of Dumuripadar.
Irked over the indifference of the officials, the villagers ghearoed the village sarpanch on Thursday.
"The SHG regularly receives its quota of rice from the government to distribute among the beneficiaries. Why it has not distributed the stuff among the beneficiaries is to be probed," said Koraput civil supplies officer B C Das.
"All the documents of the SHG and the ration cards of the beneficiaries will be checked and if the allegations are found to be true then action will be taken against the SHG," said Narayanpatna block development officer, Hemant Kumar Singh. tnn