Around 51,000 tonnes of edible oil and 30,000 tonnes of pulses, which was held up at the Chennai Port due to the COVID-19 lockdown, are being released in a phased manner for sale in Tamil Nadu and other southern States, according to members of the State government’s committee in charge of essential commodities.
Following the imposition of the lockdown in March, the two commodities, procured by private traders from domestic and international suppliers, could not be moved out of the port for a variety of reasons, such as the need for clearances from Customs and plant quarantine authorities and the non-availability of lorry drivers.
The traders sought the State government’s help, and subsequently, the committee held meetings with officials concerned and others to pave the way for the release of the commodities.
Pointing out that huge quantities of black gram (urad dal) had come in from Myanmar and other south-east Asian countries, the members of the panel said that swift action was required, as otherwise, there may have been a shortage of pulses.
On an average, Tamil Nadu has been receiving 40-60 truckloads of pulses — essentially red gram (toor dal) — from various States, every day.
Likewise, when two private companies — Aachi Masala Foods and Sakthi Masala — which manufacture powdered spices, drew the government’s attention to problems they were facing in getting raw materials from States like Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra, the committee got the issue resolved after taking it up with officials in charge of departments and agencies concerned in the respective States and the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare.
As regards the government’s sale of grocery hampers, each containing 19 items and priced at ₹500, through fair price shops and government-controlled retail outlets, the committee members said that around 61,000 bags had been sold so far, with the value of total sales touching ₹3 crore.
With regard to ensuring adherence to social distancing norms at fair price shops, the officials said volunteers who had registered themselves with the offices of the District Collectors for disaster management will be roped in.
Monitoring availability
A group of officers — Dayanand Kataria, Additional Chief Secretary (Co-operation, Food and Consumer Protection), Gagandeep Singh Bedi, Principal Secretary (Agriculture) and P. Thamarai Kannan, Additional Director-General of Police (Welfare) — has been entrusted with the task of monitoring the availability of essential commodities, both in the government system and the open market.
It has been holding regular meetings with a wide range of stakeholders in the supply chain, such as manufacturers, wholesale traders, distributors, millers and representatives of the biscuits, drugs and pharmaceutical sectors.
