AP to distribute fortified rice in all districts from Sept

VIJAYAWADA: Minister for civil supplies Nageswara Rao has criticised Telugu Desam Party chief Chandrababu Naidu, saying he acted like a goon in Chittoor district's Punganur and caused attacks on policemen.

The minister held Naidu responsible for the disturbances there, saying he provoked TD cadres to carry out the attacks. Despite provocations, the police officials acted in a coordinated manner, he claimed.

The minister said Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Reddy would face the next assembly election like a lion. Pawan Kalyan and Chandrababu must ask for votes from the public after explaining how they will perform better than Jagan Reddy, he said.

Nageswara announced that the government will distribute fortified rice through PDS, MDM and ICDS from September. Fortified rice contains iron, folic acid and B12. Iron prevents anaemia, folic acid helps blood formation and B12 vitamin improves the functioning of the nervous system, he said.

He said that nutritional rice is prepared by mixing fortified rice kernels with normal rice in a ratio of 1:100. “Pregnant women, mothers and children should take more of this rice. With fortified rice, the body not only gets nutrients but also vitamins.”

He said some people believed that fortified rice was plastic because it floated on water when mixed with water for cooking. “They are trolling on social media that the government is supplying plastic rice.”

“CM Jagan Mohan Reddy has said that it is with great ambition that he is distributing fortified rice to improve the health of the people. It is already being distributed in Uttarandhra (north Andhra) and Rayalaseema districts as a pilot project. It will be provided across the state through PDS, MDM and ICDS.”

“Our state is at the first place among the states distributing fortified rice. From this month, 3 kg nutritional rice packets are being distributed to pregnant and lactating women through ICDS under the home ration scheme.”

The minister explained that fortified rice is being manufactured in Punjab, Haryana, Maharashtra and other states as well as in AP.