Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (ANK)

Mangaluru, Apr 10: Minister for food and civil supplies U T Khader on Monday April 10 said that strict action would be taken against 10 agencies for lapses in distribution of tur dal to ration shops for the last couple of months.

Addressing a press meet here, Khader said, "Notices will be issued to agencies that have undertaken tender to supply tur dal to ration shops, but have not delivered. Earlier we had announced that tur dal wiould be provided to the people, but from the couple of months, the supply has been hit.

"Stringent action will be taken against 10 agencies for their lapse which put the public in a quandary. Agencies had to supply 2,177 quintals to Dakshina Kannada, but they have supplied only 155 quintals so far," he said.

|People in gram panchayat and town panchayat limits are facing a lot of harrasment from the officials when applying for ration cards, as they demand so many documents to avail these cards. Representatives concerned need to help people to overcome this situation," he added.

When asked about his visit to the hospital to meet Ahmed Qureshi who was allegedly tortured in police custody, U T Khader said, "I had visited the hospital but I could not meet the victim, but I have gathered information about Qureshi. The issue has grabbed the attention of the government, and soon, the government will appoint an investigation officer to look into the matter."

When asked if the police department had been 'saffronised' as alleged, Khader said, "How can a department become saffronised? It is totally wrong to blame the entire police department for the mistake of one two personnel. We need to identify such police personnel and take stringent action against them."