Something is rotten...

I was reading an article, when I was in the insti library (Yes, I go there sometimes) recently. Thought of sharing it. So, here I am, with this new, a bit serious post, a deviation from my usual theme: Movies.
Despite the record procurement of 608.79 lakh tonnes of rice and wheat last month, more than 40% of the population goes hungry and 46% of the country’s children are malnourished. As if that wasn’t enough, reports have come of government agencies leaving thousands of tonnes of foodgrain to rot in the open. The pic alongside shows grain rotting in a storage facility(??) in Fatehgarh, Punjab. On the other hand, India is emerging as a major foodgrain exporter to the poor African nations.
As per reports, some 61,000 tonnes of foodgrain in Punjab, Haryana and elsewhere was left to rot in open! This could have fed at least 120 lakh people for a month! The government did nothing to store the grain properly, nor did it consider distributing it to the needy instead of letting it rot.
“The country should get its priorities right,” says Dr M.S. Swaminathan, a renowned agriculture scientist. “It’s a shame. If it cannot save its foodgrain for the needy, the state should not be talking of a food security law. Providing food should be the priority. Instead, the government has chosen to focus on airports and the Commonwealth Games.” Even after this was exposed, all the government did, was to acknowledge it; no investigation, no steps to prevent such a colossal wastage in future.
And we are exporting the surplus to Africa! Can the nation really talk about surplus stocks if all the hungry aren't fed??

-excerpts from "Outlook"