Hundreds of tonnes of wheat procured by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) have been left to rot due to official apathy and lack of storage space at Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh.

Wheat loaded in thousands of gunny bags is kept in the open on the platform and near the sidings in the goods yard of local railway station.

The blame game has begun between the local administration and the FCI to accept responsibility for the decomposition of wheat in huge quantities.

"The FCI is an agency of the government which looks after storage and procurement but the problem is that these people have not done the procurement in the right manner. They ask the state government as per their requirement. Their main problem is storage; they don't keep the wheat bags properly and throw away the rotten wheat. We have just learnt that they are throwing away wheat. So we are investigating if they have spoiled our (state) share of wheat," said Mukesh Kumar Meshram, District Magistrate, Kanpur.

Bags of rotten wheat are being tossed in bushes, spreading a strong stench in the neighbourhood.

Residents are angry at the wastage of wheat at a time when the commoner is already trying to make both ends meet due to high inflationary trends.

"As I was crossing the storehouses of the FCI, I saw wheat rotting in its drains. The government should take care of the wheat as it belongs to the public. The wheat, which is being sold at the control (ration) of seven kilograms should be increased and given away at 15-20 kilograms. People are dying due to hunger here and wheat is rotting in the country," said Rakesh Singh, a local resident of Kanpur. By Mahendra Mishra (ANI)