Updating ration card an uphill task

Tirupati: Updating the ration card or making corrections in the household card has turned a tough task for the people in the pilgrim city.

Those who are in need of making changes in their household card has to invariably face the ordeal of waiting hours at the office of the Assistant Supply Officer (ASO) and in many cases visiting the office several times, here testing their patience.

Enquiries have revealed that inadequate staff and equipment at the office of the ASO adding more woes to the people.

The ASO office here is concerned with 90,000 existing ration cardholders including 62,000 white ration cards, 22,000 pink ration cards and the remaining cards under Annapoorna scheme in the limits of Municipal Corporation of Tirupati while pending applications for issuance of new ration cards added more to their work.

The office staff includes Assistant Supply Officer (ASO), two Deputy Tahsildars (DTs), a computer operator and two office assistants. But, the ASO is now acting as District Supply Officer (DSO) and he has to stay at Chittoor often while one of the DTs is also on deputation to work in the Collectorate. Thus, leaving the office here understaffed.

Further, only one computer operator and two assistants, who are working on outsourcing basis, are unable to cope with the increasing workload in the context of the ever increasing applicants for updating or effecting changes in the details of the family.

Due to various reasons like shifting of houses which is regular feature in the rapidly growing urban areas like Tirupati, addition or deletion in the family list, transfers etc.

there is a constant flow of ration cardholders at the ASO office here seeking to make changes in their cards. Y Munikrishna, an elderly man talking to The Hans India at the ASO office here, said that he applied for a duplicate ration card after he lost his card, six months back and is still to get it.

Another person Mohan Rao said that he applied for a new ration card and got it but one of his daughters was not included in the list, forcing him to apply for the inclusion of her name in the list.

An old woman whose supply of essentials including rice was stopped, since a month was also seen pleading with a staff to help her to get the supply. And the list of such cases goes on.

Deputy Tahsildar Gopalaiah admitted that people have to wait for effecting the changes in their ration card as it takes five minutes for updating each card as the office is having only one computer operator.

“At least, there will be a minimum of about hundred coming daily here for updating or correction in the ration cards,” he said underlining the need to strengthening the office including increasing staff strength and also providing more equipment to ensure prompt service with
regard to updating the ration cards.

Social activist Lakshmaiah said people, who are coming here for Aadhaar seeding, change of address, transfer, cancellation, inclusion, deletion and also correction of names facing much difficulty with the delay. “We have represented several times to strengthen the ASO office which is pending for a long,” he said.

By:G Sridhar