Singareni MEMU express turns boon for PDS rice smugglers of Mancherial

The Singareni MEMU express operated daily between Bhadrachalam Road and Balharshah of Maharashtra has apparently become a boon for public distribution system (PDS) rice smugglers.

Mancherial: The Singareni MEMU express operated daily between Bhadrachalam Road and Balharshah of Maharashtra has apparently become a boon for public distribution system (PDS) rice smugglers. The train is meant for economically weak passengers from the coal belt areas of both Telangana and Maharashtra.

However, as the Balharshah-bound express stops at Ravindrakhani station in the afternoon for less than a minute, scores of men and women rapidly transfer at least four bags of rice. General passengers are amazed at the rate of speed with which they load the bags in the train. The bags then disappear in the next few minutes.

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The smugglers belonging to Ravindrakhani and Mandamarri towns are easily able to indulge in diversion of the grains by the express to Wirur of Chandrapur district in Maharashtra every day by hoodwinking personnel of government railway police (GRP).

The smugglers, mostly women, shift bags containing around anywhere between 20 kg and 50 kg of grains each once the train halts at Ravindrakhani for a brief period. They then hide bags in dysfunctional toilets to evade seizure of the grains by the railway police. They pose as passengers and do not claim the consignment if police check the compartments.

The smugglers sell the grains to traders in Wirur and collect money for their grains within an hour of time. They can easily return to their home towns by the similar express service on the same day. “Shops are located around 500 metres away from Wirur railway station. Smugglers can catch the express by the time it comes back from Balharshah,” a source said.

The smugglers procure the grains from beneficiaries of the food security scheme for Rs.12 per kilogram by touring villages. They sell the grains to traders for Rs.22 per kg.

Additional Collector S Motilal said that steps were being taken to control the diversion of PDS rice by booking cases against the smugglers. He stated smugglers from Ravindrakhani and Mandamarri were notorious for attacking officials who conduct raids on the stocks near the railway stations. However, a watch was kept on habitual offenders.