AGARTALA, July 26 (TIWN): A three member delegation of the Food Corporation of India (FCI) today visited Tripura ahead of the beginning of foodgrain transhipment through Ashuganj port of Bangaldesh. The delegation led by Executive Director (Transport) of the FCI Subhash Jadu met Chief Secretary Dr. SK Panda at the civil secretariat here today. The FCI officials took stock of the latest foodgrain stock position of the state and reviewed the current procurement status, official sources said. A highly placed source in the Department for Food and Civil Supplies said that the state government today laid high stress on timely procurement of necessary foodgrain stocks to last through the six months' mega block of the Northeast Frontier Railway scheduled to start from October this year.

 The source further said that the 10,000 MT consignment of foodgrains for Tripura that travelled from Vishakhapatnam of Andhra Pradesh to Ashuganj port in Bangladesh through Diamond Harbour in West Bengal is slated to arrive at Ashuganj port on July 27. The consignment would be unloaded to be reached to Agartala by trucks after Eid, the source said.

India was asking for transit access for land, sea and rail access to the northeast via Bangladesh. The two neighbors share 2,979 km of land border and 1,116 km of riverine boundary and also share 54 rivers, including eight rivers flowing from Tripura. The average monthly requirement of food grains in the state is reported to be 30,000 MT now. With 10,000 MT transported through Bangladesh, the state government is learnt to be attempting at building a three months' buffer food stock by procuring additional food grains through rail and roadways before the mega block starts.

“The state requires at least three months of PDS buffer stock before commencement of the mega block. In addition, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) should strengthen its capability to transport by road to the extent of at least 30-35 thousand MT foodgrains every month”, the source said.