TIRUVARUR: About 26 tonnes of rice worth Rs 15 lakh, meant for the public distribution system (PDS), was partly charred and partly damaged in a fire that engulfed two lorries laden with rice bags and which were parked in the godown premises of the State-owned Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation (TNCSC) at Kudavasal in Tiruvarur district in the wee hours of Monday.
Official sources said that 26 tonnes of boiled rice loaded on to the two lorries and meant for the PDS to be supplied through fair price shops in Kudavasal taluk, had been dispatched to TNCSC warehouse on Saturday. The vehicles, parked at its premises, awaited the unloading of the rice bags.
However, in the wee hours of Monday a fire broke out under allegedly mysterious circumstances in both the lorries.
Some people nearby who noticed the raging flames and alerted the Fire and Rescue services department who rushed to the spot and put out the fire.
According to N R Pandiyan, owner of one of the partially gutted lorry, though the rice bags consignment had reached the TNCSC godown on Saturday afternoon, nobody there had shown interest to unload the rice bags.
It was pathetic to see the charred/ damaged rice bags at the scene of the fire.
Meanwhile, TNCSC’s senior regional manager Alagirisamy visited the fire mishap spot on Monday, and held enquiries with the warehouse officials.
