By TC News Desk
Agartala, 20th May 2024 : Special task force established at the sub-divisional level has conducted 290 raids and collected fines totaling Rs 4 lakh to combat the creation of artificial shortages of essential commodities.
During a press conference, Food, Civil Supplies, and Consumer Affairs Minister Sushanta Chowdhury explained that Tripura faces challenges every monsoon season due to landslides, heavy rains, and other natural calamities that obstruct trucks carrying goods from Assam.
“During these times, some traders exploit the situation by creating an artificial crisis, leading to panic among the public. To counter this, task forces at the state and sub-divisional levels have been actively conducting raids and surveillance to ensure normal stocks and prices of essential commodities in the markets. Over the past six months, these task forces have carried out a total of 290 raids. Traders found guilty of overcharging for daily necessities or operating without valid documentation have been fined, resulting in the collection of approximately four lakh rupees,” stated the Minister.
Chowdhury also highlighted that the state’s current average daily demand for petrol is 275 kiloliters (KL), while for diesel it is 365 kiloliters (KL).
“As of May 19, IOCL has a stock of 1,700 kiloliters (KL) of petrol and 2,726 kiloliters (KL) of diesel at various petrol pumps, including the Dharmanagar depot in the North District. In anticipation of the monsoon season, IOCL has taken steps to ensure the transport system remains operational by both road and rail to maintain a steady supply,” the Minister noted.
Additionally, Chowdhury mentioned that the state consistently maintains a stock of 60-80 days’ worth of food grains under the public distribution system.
“Despite the recent disruption of rail services in the Lumding-Badarpur section, which affected the import of food grains by FCI, this will not impact the public distribution system. Since rail traffic normalization on May 11, FCI has imported about 9,114 metric tonnes of rice into the state via 147 rail wagons. Furthermore, 21 more rail wagons carrying public distribution rice are expected by the evening of May 20. FCI has informed that approximately 14,300 metric tonnes of rice are being transported to the state through six rail rakes for public distribution. Consequently, by May 31, the state will have about 90 days’ worth of rice stock under public distribution,” he concluded.
