Panel suggests 100% foodgrain packaging in jute bags
Kolkata, June 23 : The Standing Advisory Committee (SAC) has recommended that 100 per cent of foodgrain produced should be packaged in jute for the current year, allowing a dilution of up to 10 per cent at a time and 30 per cent in the year, if jute mills fail to supply the bags within the permissible 30 days, an official said on Saturday.
In its 26th meeting, the committee, which recommends jute packaging norms to the government, also suggested 20 per cent of sugar productions should be reserved for packing in jute bags.
Considering that jute is a biodegradable and eco-friendly fibre, the jute industry requires "sustenance till it diversifies and captures the domestic and global market on its own steam," the committee noted.
"In the recent SAC meeting, it recommended that 100 per cent of the foodgrains produced should be reserved for packing in jute. On receiving the entire requirement from procurement agencies for packaging of foodgrains in jute bags, if jute mills fail to supply bags within the permissible 30 days, the Department of Food and Public Distribution may allow dilution of packaging material upto 10 per cent at a time and upto 30 per cent in the whole year with the approval of Ministry of Textiles, the official said referring minutes of the meeting.
The SAC also recommended if the procurement agencies do not place indents as per the supply plan prepared by the Department of Food Public Distribution and if bunching of demand (indents) takes place, the procuring agency will not be entitled for dilution.
"The jute mills will get reasonable additional time for the supply of additional jute bags. However, if the mill fails to supply the bags in the extended period the provision of dilution will apply," the official said.
Nearly 3.7 lakhs workers and 40 lakhs farmers are dependent on the jute sector for their livelihood and based on the last four years' trends, as well as the targeted requirement to pack the quantity of food grains to be procured under the Food Procurement Programmea the demand is likely to be in the range of 28-30 lakhs bales during 2018-19, the official said.
The industry had demonstrated its capacity of producing 2.5 lakh bales of sacking per month for packing food grains.
Further, in terms of the projections of the Jute Advisory Board, 72 lakhs bales of raw jute are likely to be produced during the Jute Year (July-June) 2018-19.
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Jharkhand horror: Man kills live-in partner, chops body into 40 pieces
Ranchi (PTI): A 25-year-old man, who works as a butcher, allegedly strangled to death his live-in partner and chopped her body into 40 to 50 pieces in a forested area in Jharkhand’s Khunti district, police said on Wednesday.
The accused, identified as Naresh Bhengra, was arrested.
The matter came to light after around a fortnight after the killing when a stray dog was found with human body parts near Jordag village in Jariagarh police station on November 24.
Bhengra was in a live-in relationship with the deceased, a 24-year-old woman also from Khunti district, in Tamil Nadu for the past couple of years. Sometime back, he returned to Jharkhand, got married to another woman without telling his partner anything and went back to the southern state without his wife to join her.
"The brutal incident occurred on November 8 when they reached Khunti as the accused who had married another woman did not wish to take her home. Instead, he took her to a forest near his house at Jordag village in Jariagarh police station and chopped the body into pieces. The man has been arrested," Khunti Superintendent of Police Aman Kumar told PTI.
Inspector Ashok Singh who investigated the case said the man worked in a butcher shop in Tamil Nadu and was expert in slicing chicken.
“He admitted chopping the body parts of the woman into 40 to 50 pieces before leaving those in the forest for wild animals to feast on. The police recovered several parts on November 24 after a dog in the area was seen with a hand," Singh told PTI.
Singh said that the woman, who was unaware of his marriage, pressured him to return to Khunti. After reaching Ranchi, they boarded a train on November 24 and headed to the man's village.
"Under a plan, the man took her to Khunti in an autorickshaw near his home and asked her to wait. He returned with sharp weapons and strangulated her with her dupatta after raping her. He then cut the body into 40 to 50 pieces and left for his home to live with his wife," Singh said.
The woman, however, had informed her mother that she had boarded a train and would be living with her partner, the police officer said.
Following the recovery of body parts, a bag was also found in the forest with the murdered woman's belongings including her Aadhaar card. The mother of the woman was called at the spot and she identified her daughter's belongings.
"The mother suspected the man behind the crime who after being nabbed by the police admitted to chopping the woman into pieces," the official added.
The incident has sent shockwaves among people in the region, with the Shraddha Walker murder case of 2022 still fresh in their memory.
Walker was killed by her live-in partner who chopped her body into pieces before dumping them in the jungle in South Delhi’s Mehrauli.
