The raids were carried out at 16 districts including Bhubaneswar, Balasore, Puri and Rayagada. In Bhubaneswar, the Food and Civil Supplies officials seized around 51 tonnes of lentil and urad dal from a retired teacher’s house. Earlier, the officials sealed a godown in Mancheswar area after busting huge amount of illegal hoarding pulses there.
And, in Puri district officials seized around 21 tonnes of illegal hoarded pulses at a godown of a trader in Chandanpur area. In Balasore, raids were too carried out by the Food and Civil Supplies officials. During the raid they seized 17.6 tonnes of illegal hoarded pulses from Motoganj area.
Notably, officials have started raids following skyrocketing prices of pulses in the state. Action would be taken against hoarders of pulses in Odisha, state Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare (FS&CW) Minister Sanjay Dasburma said. Dasburma’s warning to traders against irregularities in holding pulses stocks came after the supplies department seized large quantities of pulses from a warehouse in Mancheswar area.