FCI to use waterways to transport paddy

Food Corporation of India (FCI) has decided to use inland water transport facilities for the first time to transport foodgrain from one state of the country to another.

According to FCI managing director V K Malhotra, around 161,000 tonnes of paddy procured in Bihar, in the wake of the bumper production of the crop this year, will be carried through waterways to West Bengal for milling. The scheduled service on the National Waterway No.1""between Patna and Haldia "" will be used for the purpose.

FCI and the Central Inland Water Transport Corporation (CIWTC) will jointly load paddy at various points ""Digaghat and Gaighat to Haldia and Kolkata. Vessels with a capacity of 300 tonnes in lean water draft period and 600 tonnes in high draft seasons will be used for transporting the consignments. The points of unloading will be closer to the mills.

Malhotra said the operation was thought of in view of the paucity of paddy milling capacity in Bihar. At the same time, paddy procurement in the state will encourage the local rice milling industry to modernise its plants to meet the future needs of the state, he added.