Dhubri, Oct. 25: Consumers above the poverty line under 22 co-operative societies have not received rice over the past two months because of non-supply to the Goalpara FCI godown.

Societies alleged that because of high transportation costs, they had refrained from lifting rice from the Bongaigaon FCI.

Sources in Goalpara said as a result, 6,000 quintals of rice allotted for October were not lifted, depriving the consumers under the societies in the district.

On the other hand, Goalpara fair-shop dealers were also not getting rice supply under the Mukhya Mantri Anna Suraksha Yojana, despite draft deposit in the Bongaigaon FCI.

The Goalpara Sulabh Mulya Babasayee Sanstha said lifting and transporting of rice from the Bongaigaon FCI to Goalpara was an expensive affair.

Earlier, 23 tonnes of rice and sugar could have been transported in a single truck, but now a truck is allowed to carry only 9 tonnes of goods.

Secretary of the sanstha Nibhash Dey said the consumer price of rice under the scheme was fixed at Rs 6 but because of high cost of transportation, fair-price shop dealers have been incurring losses for a long time.

The organisation submitted a memorandum to Goalpara deputy commissioner Ashok Babu to increase the price of rice under the scheme from Rs 6 to Rs 7, but nothing has been done so far.

“We, from the sanstha, met food and civil supplies minister Nazrul Islam in the Goalpara deputy commissioner’s conference hall on September 12 and urged him to increase the price of rice, but he, too, did not respond positively and the whole matter is lying with the deputy commissioner,” Dey said.

The sanstha also alleged that despite stock being available in the Goalpara FCI godown, it did not supply rice and sugar to fair-price shop dealers and instead forced them to lift the consignments from the Bongaigaon FCI.

Goalpara additional deputy commissioner Utpal Sarma, who also looks after supply affairs, said they had already instructed the Goalpara FCI to lift the required items under public distribution system (PDS) and supply the same to the fair price dealers and societies.

“I will have to see why the Goalpara FCI has not adhered to the orders which were issued many times. But I assure you the smooth supply of PDS items to consumers through the fair shops and societies soon if the problems centre around the Goalpara FCI,” Sarma said.