Girijan Cooperative Corporation to set up 98 more Daily requirement depots in Parvathipuram

Parvathipuram (Vizianagaram): The Girijan Cooperative Corporation (GCC) is planning to expand its services to new areas in order to cover large number of people in Parvathipuram area of Vizianagaram district. GCC is running around 102 daily requirement (DR) depots in agency mandals of this district.

Now, the GCC is going to set up 98 more DR depots to facilitate the tribes living in hill top areas, which are more than 10 kms away from depots. With this, the number of depots would raise to 200. The tribes come to these depots when the weekly markets would be there.

They purchase their groceries like rice, oils, salts, pulses, tamarind, onions, potatoes, chilly powder, turmeric, soaps and other essential commodities. GCC is running those depots in Kurupam, Salur, Pachipenta, Komarada, GL.Puram, and other agency mandals here.

Tribes from around 1,200 hamlets are availing services from these depots. At present each DR depot is supplying groceries to around 500 ration cardholders and now, the government is going to set up 98 new depots and the number of cards per each depot would come down to 250.

For this the ITDA is going to recruit 116 dealer posts including for the new depots and present vacancies. They have conducted the written exam and will finalise the merit list to appoint new dealers in those shops.

Due to the far away distance, the cardholders, who cannot walk, travel through hill areas some of them are not purchasing the grains from depots. This became an opportunity to dealers, and they have been shifting the surplus grains, rice and other commodities to black market and selling them at high price. With the bifurcation of these depots, they can’t transport the commodities to market as the cardholders will come to shop and avail the card and purchase the products.

If the new shops come into force, the tribes need not travel more than 5 kms from their homes to bring grains. Even the dealers also cannot manipulate or divert the grains into open market and supply of foodgrains will be easier to dealers.

G Lakshmisa, Project Officer of ITDA, Parvathipuram, stated “We have initiated steps to make easier the distribution system. The ration cardholders can get the provisions nearby their villages. We will recruit the dealers in crystal clear and transparent way. Within a few days, people can avail the services from 200 DR depots.”