3 tons of wheat supplied to backward classes hostel buried, warden claims excess stock

RAMANAGARA: At least 3,000 kg of wheat, stored in 20 bags, were buried after it went bad at the Devaraj Urs post-matric backward classes hostel here. The wheat was supplied to the hostel to prepare food for the inmates, but was left to rot.

Following the incident, officials of the Social Welfare Department on Wednesday visited the hostel and dug up the bags of wheat with the help of an excavator. Citizens have vented the anger at the officials concerned for wasting such huge quantities of wheat.

The hostel warden Yogesh has been suspended.

On his part, the hostel warden Yogesh claimed that excess stock of wheat had been sent to the hostel over the last three years which had rotted due to the rain. “Since the bags had started emitting foul smell, the cooking staff buried the bags of wheat. I had written several times to the taluk level officials stating that there is excess stock of three years, but no one bothered”, he claimed.

The Social Welfare Department is now looking into whether excess stock was indeed sent to the hostel or if it was not used to prepare food for the hostel inmates. The lack of coordination among officials has caused huge loss to the state exchequer.

However, Madhumala, an official of the Backward Classes department, pointed fingers at the hostel warden claiming that the wheat supplied was not utilised properly. “They had stocked wheat for two years and later buried it. On receiving information, we inspected the hostel. About 3,000 kg of wheat was buried and a notice has been issued. We have also recommended to our higher-ups to take action”, she added.