Tonnes of precious foodgrain -- rice, wheat and the like -- transported all the way from Punjab, Rajasthan and Viramgam are falling victim to infrastructural inadequacies and official apathy in the Vadodara precincts of the Western Railways.

To be fair, the problem does not begin with the railways; it germinates in transit, when normal wear-and-tear causes holes to develop in the sacking used to pack foodgrains. By the time they are unloaded and brought to the covershed yard -- located quite some distance away from the tracks -- the trickle of foodgrain swells into a virtual flow, which is further encouraged by the rough surface of the yard.

Foodgrains arrive in Vadodara about six times a year to be picked up by the Food Corporation of India for despatch to the wholesale godowns in the city. The FCI authorities are supposed to unload the grain and see to its storing in the yard, but this is not always adhered to; if the time-limit expires, railway officials will order the unloading and storing and levy a fine from the FCI in exchange.

Collection from the yard, though, is another matter altogether. Railway officials admit the inconvenient location of the yard delays the despatch of the foodgrains, and it is in this time and space that the maximum destruction takes place.

Sacking made weak by constant abrasion allow cattle and other stray animals easy access to the foodgrains. The yard is unmanned, and virtually desolate, so there is little check on the damage. When the time comes for the grain to be moved, however, workers often shovel the spilled out grain -- never mind that it has been nibbled at by strays -- along with the loose cement and stones into the bag to make up the weight.

Admits an yard official, ``The yard is not cemented properly, so the FCI faces major problems during the monsoons''.

Though the railways have provided tarpaulin sheets to spread on the floor of the yard and cover the piles of sacks -- either side of the shed being open -- they are inadequate at best, according to a senior official.

Since the problem is not a new phenomenon, the FCI officials have often demanded they be allowed to unload at the open traffic handling yard near the Alembic bridge, which would let them load the sacks directly onto trucks for transportation to godowns.

Divisional Railway Manager K C Jena, however, maintains this is not possible. ``The covershed yard was built specifically for unloading of grains. Besides, the yard they want is open; who'll pay for the losses if the FCI does not pick up the grains in time during the monsoons?''

Adds Senior Divisional Commercial Manager Manmohan Singh adds, ``The yard the FCI is demanding is not big enough to accommodate the load of 240 wagons''.

Yard officials, meanwhile, say there is no way to bar the entry of animals to the covershed. ``Even if workers are employed to clean the grains, they cannot prevent animals from eating them or the dirt in the yard from contaminating them'', says one.