Sheer callousness on the part of the concerned officials has left wheat worth Rs 13 crores exposed to vagaries of the weather since last night. As the rains lashed the area, more than 2 lakh wheat bags stacked on about 73 racks lay soaking in the pouring rain even while the huge polythene covers, provided to protect the stored wheat from elements, lay nearby unused.

Such is the condition of a grain storage godwon owned by Punjab Agro near Ramgarh village, Sidhwan Bet. Inspector Avtar Singh Azad, under whose jurisdiction this godown falls, says, “I had instructed my men to cover the wheat the moment the clouds started appearing. I will ask them as to why they did not follow the orders.” This claim is however denied by the junior staff on duty at the godown.

Meanwhile, DFCS Rakesh Bhaskar, when apprised of the issue, said, “This is sheer callousness on the part of the officials and they should have taken care that when the plastic sheets are available, the bags should have been covered.”

Bhaskar added, “It has been pouring cats and dogs all night and the same continued even today morning but it is sad to see that no one took care to cover the wheat. I will conduct a probe into the matter and bring it to the notice of the concerned officials so that apt action was taken.”

A senior official on the condition of anonymity however said, “This is done deliberately as when the grain gets wet, its weight increases and thus means more price. This goes on and the worse part is that at times the grain rots completely leaving it completely unfit for both human and animal consumption.”