Akshaya Patra Foundation reverts on the Rice Scam in Vizag

The raids at the ISKCON office in Vizag discovered that the organisation was allegedly diverting rice that was being supplied to them, for the State Government’s Mid Day Meal (MDM) programme. It was discovered that the rice bags were being exported to an African Nation through a private exporter in Kakinada.

Regarding this case, Akshaya Patra foundation Visakhapatnam which is also associated with the Government in facilitating the MDM programme has released a clarification note in an E-mail sent by the Manager Mr Ramamohan. The clarification goes to say, “ It has been reported that the said organisation is diverting the rice bags meant for the Government’s MDM Programme. With reference to these developments, we would like to appraise the details of the situation proactively to our stakeholders, well-wishers and the community at large.

 We wish to categorically state that The Akshaya Patra Foundation is a legally independent, charitable organisation with no affiliation or association whatsoever with this NGO. The incident is reported to have occurred at their campus in Sagar Nagar in Visakhapatnam. Akshaya Patra’s kitchen is located at the Kancharapalem Industrial Estate in Kapparada, which is a different area from the site of the reported incident. We wish to clarify that there have been no enquiries or visits by officials of the Vigilance and Civil Supplies Department at our premises.

Akshaya Patra strictly follows the instructions and guidelines regarding the implementation of the MDM Scheme issued by the Government of India and respective State Governments. As the implementing partner of MDM, Akshaya Patra is allocated food grains (rice) based on the allotted number of children and working days. We maintain accurate accounts of the grains received, issued and balance in stock on a day-to-day basis and regularly submit the account of grains to the concerned authorities. We would like to assure all our stakeholders that we will continuously strive to adhere to good governance practices with utmost transparency and accountability in all processes.”