Civil Supplies Minister Nadendla Manohr accused that organized rice smuggling was engineered from Kakinada Port to African countries by the ruling YCP goons during the previous regime. Inspecting thousands of tonnes of rice stored in the warehouses of Kakinada and Anchorage Port, he said that a comprehensive report will be prepared and the case will be handed over to the CID for an in-depth probe.
The minister directed the port authorities to stop rice exports until the inspections are completed. He revealed that a total of 12,915 metric tons of reserves have been seized. He said that cases also will be registered against the warehouse owners. The Minister warned that the Anchorage Port authorities will also be investigated.
He said that the government is procuring rice to be provided for the poor at the rate of Rs 1 per kg, for which it is spending upto Rs 40. But, he deplored that smugglers are hijacking this rice without reaching the poor and exporting it to foreign countries. He alleged that this gang is going through Kakinada port in a big way by exporting rice with their own ships.
Manohar alleged that during the YSRCP government, the then MLA of Kakinada city, Dwarampudi Chandrasekhar Reddy, seems to be kingpin of this smuggling activity. He recalled that his father Bhaskar Reddy served as the Chairman of Civil Supplies Corporation, his brother Veerabhadra Reddy as the President of the State Millers Association and as the President of the Shipping Association.
He made it clear that all the warehouses and rice stocks seized by the authorities are the followers of Dwarampudi Chandrasekhar. He estimated that this mafia is hijacking half of the 2.12 lakh tonnes of ration rice being distributed in the state.
In this smuggling activity, Manohar deplored that the staff of all concerned government departments are cooperating with the mafia. He wondered that even though large stocks of ration rice have been found in the warehouses under the control of the port, the port officials say that they have nothing to do with it.
According to the minister, the rice collected from Telugu states as well as Tamil Nadu is being transported to Machilipatnam and Kakinada ports. Workers from Bihar and Odisha were hired for loading and unloading at the port.
