Officials of the Vigilance and Enforcement Department conducted raids on Balaji Rice Mill at Anandapuram and seized huge quantity of rice, around 20 tonnes, meant for the Public Distribution System in Visakhapatnam city, on Sunday.
Adulteration
The officials said some mill owners on the city’s outskirts had been procuring PDS rice at cheaper rate from a few ration shop dealers in the city.
The millers then mix the PDS rice with boiled rice and sell the adulterated stuff for ₹50 per kg.
Sometimes, the millers were also polishing the PDS rice to make it look like fine rice and sell it by neatly packing it in branded bags, the officials alleged.