South and West Sikkim Districts Staring at a Foodgrain Shortage as FCI’s Jorethang Godown Has Just 50 Bags of Rice

South and West districts of Sikkim are staring at a foodgrain shortage as the Food Corporation of India’s (FCI) godown in Jorethang is reportedly running out of stock and is left with just 50 bags of rice, sources told Northeast Live. Each bag of rice has around 30 kgs of rice.

The Jorethang godown serves as the central distribution point for both South and West Sikkim districts and the lack of timely restocking from Siliguri is said to have triggered the supply crunch in these districts.

The situation might get worse as once again reports of landslides and bridges getting washed away due to rains are coming in from Sikkim. Yesterday landslides at 20th Mile led to a road blockade which was cleared later in the evening. Today a bridge near 4th Mile connecting to the Geyzing Legshep road was washed away snapping road connectivity.

A similar situation was witnessed in July earlier this year when South Sikkim grappled with a severe shortage of essential food items as the FCI godown in Siliguri at Jorethang failed to meet the requirement.

The July month shortfall disrupted the monthly distribution of Public Distribution System (PDS) supplies such as Priority Household (PHH), Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY), and mid-day meals across South and West Sikkim.

Just like in the month of July, the possibility of a shortage of food in 20 warehouses of South and West Sikkim can happen this time too if the necessary foodgrains is not supplied to Jorethang godown in time.

The Jorethang godown’s capacity is 12,000 bags. The FCI godown’s capacity at Rangpo is 10,900 metric tonnes, the current stocks are at 2,200 metric tonnes, which only caters to a period of 20 days.

Also read: Sikkim Forest & Environment Dept and Global Tiger Forum Join Hands For Tiger Conservation In The State‘

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