Sugarless Ganesha: No Bhagya for the Karnataka’s poor this time

Bengaluru: The poor man’s Ganesha is set to become less sweet this time. Kadabu and modak, the state’s delicacies may well become sugarless with the state government deciding against distributing an additional 2 kg sugar along with the regular 1 kg to each PDS cardholder during the current month.

And the reason for this sorry state of affairs? The department of food and civil supplies had participated in the tender process to buy sugar seized from sugar mills for non-payment of Rs 100 per quintal as incentive to sugarcane growers for 2013-14.

When the tender process was about to start, a few private mills got a stay order from the court against the auction of the sugar seized from them. As the department was sure of buying 11,034 metric tonnes of the seized sugar and did not buy it from open market, it is left high and dry.

It had announced that it would distribute two kg sugar to each cardholder along with the September quota of one kg. But with no additional sugar for Ganesha, cardholders will have to buy it from shops to prepare sweets during this festival.

Food and Civil Supplies Minister Dinesh Gundurao told Deccan Chronicle, “We did not know it would end up in a legal wrangle. Since time is very short to buy this month's quota of sugar from the open market, we are distributing two kg to each cardholder in October. We request people to co-operate with the department since it was unexpected. People can prepare more sweets during Dasara”.

Mr Gundurao said the bitter experience had taught him not to participate in such tender processes involving legal implications. The department had already taken a decision to buy sugar from the open market as there will not be much difference in the open market and tender price.