HT Correspondent
MARGHERITA, Sept 15: Members of Asomiya Yuba Mancha on Saturday staged a dharna at Longtong Tiniali, Udaipur, under Margherita sub-division of Tinsukia district, protesting against the black marketing of government-supplied flour, which beneficiaries have not received for many years from fair price shops.
The student bodies alleged that people are not getting the flour they are entitled to through the fair price shops.
The protesters raised various slogans against the BJP-led government of Assam, the Margherita sub-divisional administration (civil), and the state Food & Civil Supply minister for silently overlooking a significant scam.
Gautam Baruah, president of the Asomiya Yuba Mancha Tinsukia district committee, said that a major scam involving subsidised wheat has occurred in the Margherita sub-division, where the government has been providing subsidised wheat every month to Sri Prabhat Food Product Industries, located in Jagun. Unfortunately, the flour is being supplied to the black market, depriving the general public of flour from fair price shops.
Sri Prabhat Food Product Industries has been receiving subsidised flour from the state government for many years, which they are supposed to supply to all cooperative societies in Margherita. These societies are then responsible for supplying flour to all fair price shops in the Margherita sub-division. However, the proprietor of Sri Prabhat Food Product Industries is allegedly involved in a large flour syndicate, with all the subsidised flour being diverted to the black market, leaving the general public without government-supplied flour for years, said Gautam Baruah.
A high-level inquiry into the flour distribution has been demanded, as it remains unclear where the flour goes without reaching the beneficiaries. Gautam Baruah urged chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, the Margherita sub-divisional officer (civil), and the state Food & Civil Supply minister to conduct an impartial inquiry against Sri Prabhat Food Product Industries at the earliest.
This correspondent attempted to contact officials of the Margherita sub-divisional administration (civil), but no one could be reached.