Sale of Bharat Rice on hold in Karnataka for now

BENGALURU: The sale of ‘Bharat Rice’ is temporarily halted in the state with effect from July. The supply of Bharat Rice was started ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

The central government had decided to distribute high quality rice at a lower price to attract voters and launched Bharat Rice on February 2 this year. Under this scheme, rice was being sold at Rs 29 per kg, wheat flour at Rs 27.5 per kg and chana dal at Rs 60 per kg. As per the central government’s order, the inventory was stopped on June 10, and subsequently the distribution has been halted.

Earlier, the government had arranged for distribution of rice and other items through mobile vans in Bengaluru and other parts of the state. But despite the demand from consumers, the supply of rice has been temporarily halted.

So far, 5,000 tons of rice have been sold in the state. The production of paddy has decreased due to last year’s drought, making it challenging to implement this scheme across the country.