Kalaburagi: Following directions from the state government, the district administration on Friday, raided hoarders in the district and seized pulses, mainly red gram, worth over Rs 43 crore which was stored illegally in the state owned warehouses.
The eight teams, constituted by the district administration, led by assistant commissioners and tahasildars carried out inspections on the red gram mills, godowns, and also the premises of wholesale traders and kirana merchants.
The Deputy Director of Food and Civil Supplies A.T. Jayappa told sources that the teams raided unit-I of the state warehouse at the Kapnur Industrial Area here and seized 37,900 quintals of pulses, worth over Rs 30 crore, stored illegally by the traders.
In an another raid on unit-II of the state warehouse, they seized 15,414 quintals of pulses, worth around Rs 13 crore.
Jayappa added that these pulses had been stored illegally by 375 hoarders in godowns since January-February, thereby creating an artificial shortage in the market.
“Only farmers are supposed to stock their produce in the warehouse. But these traders had taken the land records of farmers and stocked them in the names of farmers. Cases will be booked against these traders and the pulses seized would be released into the open market”, he said.
The major crackdown comes after the state government was reprimanded by the Centre for not taking action against hoarders, resulting in a huge price rise.
