Karnataka: Can't divert PDS goods! Vehicles to have GPS

BELAGAVI: Vehicles ferrying essential commodities for the Public Distribution System (PDS) in the state will soon be equipped with high tech GPS and will have a uniform colour.

To prevent the illegal diversion of PDS commodities to the black market, the state government has decided to use vehicles which have GPS and are fitted with weight based equipment for stock calculation.

The new device will detect pilferage of food grains from vehicles transporting essential commodities from warehouse to fair price shops.

Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Minister for Food and Civil Supplies  U.T. Khader said that the state government has decided to hand over the responsibility of managing PDS transport vehicles to one agency like it was done in the case of 108 ambulance vehicles.

If the vehicles have the same colour, it will be easy for the public to identify those carrying essential commodities meant for BPL and APL families, he said.

The GPS can detect the theft of even a single kg of foodgrains.

To monitor the movement of these vehicles, a dedicated control room will be set up at the headquarters from where necessary instructions will be given to drivers. The implementation of the new system will weed out bogus cards and also check the illegal diversion of food grains to the black market, Mr Khader explained.