PDS Fortified Wheat Atta’ up for grabs at select FPSs

After a substantial course of trials, the A & N Administration's Directorate of Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs finally rolled out its ambitious pilot project for distribution of fortified wheat flour/Atta under Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) in South Andaman,  excluding Little Andaman on Aug. 16, 2013, here. This has come as a sure respite for the Islands' Atta lovers, who have been going through tough times with the soaring prices of packed Atta, of late. Packed neatly in a white coloured sachet, the 'PDS Fortified Wheat Flour Atta', manufactured by Associated Industries, R-45, Industrial Estate, Dollygunj, Port Blair, has already been made available for sale to the ration card holders at the counters of a few select Fair Price Shops (FPS) in the city, to start with.

          The 'PDS Fortified Wheat Flour Atta' is now available at these few select FPSs at Rs. 15 for Above Poverty Line (APL), Rs. 12.40 for Below Poverty Line (BPL) and Rs. 10.35 for Antyodaya Anna Yojna (AAY) categories.

          Speaking to this correspondent, the Director, (CS & CA), Mr. Som Naidu informed that to begin with, the scheme is being implemented for a period of three months on a trial basis in South Andaman, excluding Little Andaman and will be extended further, depending upon the response received from the consumers. "We will cover the entire South Andaman district in the next ten days. The two other districts will also be covered in due course of time.

          He further said that the card holders can purchase the packed Atta and whole wheat from their respective FPS on a 50-50 basis.

          As per the present plan, the customers of various categories can purchase half of the total quantity of whole wheat issued to them in the form of packed Atta i.e. if a family gets 8 Kg of whole wheat per month, it now has the option of purchasing 4 Kg of whole wheat and 4 Kg of packed Atta. The customers cannot purchase full 8 Kg of packed Atta in place of whole wheat, as of now, due to shortage of supply during the three-month trial period," he added.

          "Manufactured with the help of a pneumatic mill, the 'PDS Fortified Wheat Flour Atta' contains Vitamin A, Folic acid and Iron and a lab certification is sought from the manufacturer in a bid to verify the standards as per the Food Safety & Standard Act, 2006, on a monthly basis, during the trial period, which will be changed to every 3 months, later on," enlightened Mr. Rajesh, who looks after the distribution of food grains at the Directorate.

          Regarding a green coloured square patch observed in the middle of every packet of the packed Atta, Mr. Naidu said that initially it was planned to imprint the state emblem of the nation, the Ashoka Chakra on every packet, but a bit of circumspection was exercised about the likelihood of the empty packets being stamped upon, once discarded in garbage and hence the emblem, already printed on the first lot of the packets was masked.