The State government expanded its subsidised fine rice distribution programme on Monday across Chittoor and Sri Sathya Sai districts, opening special sale counters to make quality rice available at affordable prices following the recent rise in market rates.
In Chittoor, local MLA Gurajala Jaganmohan launched the sales at the Rythu Bazaar. He said that the government was committed to ensuring that economically weaker families received quality rice at affordable prices. The initiative would reduce household expenditure by offering rice at prices significantly below prevailing market rates.
In Sri Sathya Sai district, District Collector A. Shyam Prasad, Joint Collector M. Mourya Bharadwaj and former Minister Palle Raghunath Reddy inaugurated a special rice sale centre at Kothacheruvu mandal headquarters. Simultaneously, 15 special sale centres were opened across major mandals to stabilise prices and prevent artificial shortages.
Collector Shyam Prasad said that the BPT Super Fine Steam Rice was being sold at ₹52 per kg, while BPT raw rice was available at ₹50 per kg.
He said that centres would continue operating until market prices normalised. He appealed to the public to purchase rice only from the authorised government centres and to avoid middlemen.
Published – August 03, 2026 06:40 pm IST
