Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan inspected Kakinada Port to check illegal transportation of rice
Kakinada: In order to look into the unlawful shipment of rice, Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan visited the Kakinada Port. He inspected 1,064 tons of rice bags that were purportedly meant for illicit shipment to West African nations and were put onto a barge during his visit. Details on the persistent problem of illicit rice shipment from the port were given by State Minister for Civil Supplies Nadendla Manohar.
“I arrived to Kakinada Port to investigate the illicit PDS rice smuggling. A fraud that spread widely under the previous administration and is currently going strong. This port seems to be open to everyone. “No responsibility,” Kalyan wrote on X.
He said, “There is no oversight from the anchoring port. How are the Kakinada Port Authority and the district government allowing this to occur? This calls for a careful investigation.
A few days ago, authorities, led by Kakinada District Collector Shan Mohan, stopped the ship Stella L Panama, which was carrying 640 tons of ready-to-transport rice, nine nautical miles off the shore. To examine the confiscated package, Pawan Kalyan went to the location. Officials recently stopped illicit rice shipments and seized them at the port, led by Thota Sudhir, the chairman of the Civil Supplies Corporation.
Kalyan voiced his grave disapproval and asked how such massive rice smuggling could go unnoticed at Kakinada Port.
He attacked authorities, saying that only when public officials step in will unlawful transit be halted. He called for responsibility and action.
Noting that no one is above the law, Kalyan also issued strong orders for strict actions against everyone implicated in the unlawful shipment of ration grains.
“Today, PDS rice is being smuggled, and tomorrow, explosives or RDX may be imported. Will the smuggling of grains deter criminals? Bombings in Mumbai and terrorist assaults are not new to us. Additionally, the former East Godavari district is home to important facilities like ONGC and KG Basin; hence, we would take rigorous action for the sake of the country,” Kalyan wrote on X.
He also questioned the passivity and mistakes of the district and port authorities that enabled rationed rice to be smuggled out of the port undetected.
