VELLORE: The officials of the District Supply Office have seized a total of 624 metric tonnes of smuggled PDS rice, on its way to the neighbouring states in the last one year. Civil Supplies CID Personnel on the other hand, have booked the smugglers of the PDS rice under the Goondas Act to check the illegal activity. Sources in the department said that they have seized the ration rice from April 2011 to March 2012. “The worth of the seized PDS rice is Rs 49.47 lakh. We have outperformed our counterparts in other districts in the State in seizing smuggled PDS rice and also collected fines from the offenders worth Rs 5.13 lakh,” said a senior officer of the department.The district, which shares its border with Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, has become the transit point for smuggling of ration rice to the neighbouring states from the northern districts of Tamil Nadu. “The smugglers collect PDS rice from cardholders, accumulate it and transport it in lorries, public transport and trains to Bangarpet in Karnataka and Kuppam in AP from Tiruvannamalai, Cuddalore and Krishnagiri districts through Vaniyambadi and Tirupattur in Vellore,” said the official.Stepping up vehicle checks and monitoring vehicle movement in the important routes prone to this illegal activity has turned fruitful in preventing the smuggling to a large extent. “We seize an average of 50,000 tonnes to 70,000 tonnes per month. Most of the seizures are from Vaniyambadi and Tirupattur,” said another official.The officials also confiscated 54 vehicles, mostly lorries and mini vans used for the illegal transport of the rice. “We have booked as many as 19 habitual offenders, including a woman, under the Goondas Act,” said a police officer of the Civil Supplies CID.He added that in a month, around 20 to 25 persons are booked under the Essential Commodities Act 1955 for indulging in rice smuggling.
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