SIR MANCHEKJEE BHOWNAG-GREE (Bethnal Green, N.E.)To ask the Secretary of State for India if his attention has been drawn to the fact that owing to want of adequate traffic arrangements stores of wheat and grain of the last harvest in India have been detained at the Kurachi and other ports and at several railway stations, and that owing to the delay in transit thousands of bags have been rotting; and, if so, can he say whether the local authorities are taking steps for increasing the facilities for the transit of these stores, as well as for the preservation and storage of the surplus stock so as to make it available for future local consumption in seasons of scarcity.
(Answered by Mr. Secretary Brodrick.) I have no official report with regard to the statement made by the hon. Member, nor have I received any representations from merchants or shippers. There is believed to be a heavy pressure of export traffic in grain on the North Western Railway, which the railway authorities will do all in their power to meet. I will bring the allegations to the notice of the authorities, and I have no doubt that every possible precaution will be taken by them to provide for the preservation and accommodation of the grain while in transit, and to facilitate its carriage. It is not the policy of the Government to interfere with private trade by storing grain on its own account against seasons of scarcity.