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White card holders denied wheat sugar oil
Even as the government is gearing up for issuing Food Security Cards by August this year, several factors, including drought, have added up to the woes of the poor as the Civil Supplies Department has reduced its focus completely on one commodity i.e. rice. In the erstwhile united Andhra
Hyderabad: Thousands of underprivileged, who are queuing up to receive their monthly ration in Telangana State through PDS, are facing anxious moments with the fair price shops distributing rice only. The card-holders are denied essential commodities which include wheat, bengal gram, red gram, atta, vanaspati, mustard, groundnut, sugar, milk, salt, tea, potato and onions. These essential commodities are required to be supplied to the poor under Food Security Act.
Even as the government is gearing up for issuing Food Security Cards by August this year, several factors, including drought, have added up to the woes of the poor as the Civil Supplies Department has reduced its focus completely on one commodity i.e. rice. In the erstwhile united Andhra Pradesh, the government had supplied sugar, wheat, red and gram regularly. The red gram which was provided through subsidised centres has also been stopped during the recent months.
According to a survey conducted by AIDWA (All India Democratic Women’s Association) recently across the districts, it was found that barring rice, no other item was being distributed. It found that several white card-holders across the districts were returning home with only rice.
Barring rice, no other essential commodity is in supply. There was never such a problem during the previous governments. Without strengthening the existing set-up what is the use of hype over other welfare activities. Already women in villages are malnourished and anaemic.
All talk about welfare programmes by the State government sounds farcical,” said T Jyothi, AIDWA, central committee member.
She said the supply of palm oil was stopped for over two years and supply of red gram stopped in February 2016. “As per government quota, each individual in a family must get 6 kg of rice under subsidy. They also must be supplied with 5 kg of wheat and ½ kg of sugar, which was not being done for some time.
Kerosene is supplied, but under tight conditions 2 litres for a household without a gas stove and 1 litre per household that has a single cylinder. While red gram, which was supplied under subsidy till February is likely to be supplied again after increasing the price from Rs 50 to Rs 110 per kg in the coming days,” she said.
During the recently conducted review meeting of the Civil Supplies Department officials with the Finance Minister, the main area of focus was on procurement of paddy through the online procurement
management system.
The AIDWA office bearers of Telangana, including its president K N Asha Lata and B Haimavath,i took up the issue with the officials on Saturday, who reportedly promised them to organise a meeting of the Food Advisory Committee (representing all the political parties) and take up various issues concerned with the distribution of essential commodities.
However Civil supplies Commissioner Rajath Kumar maintained that there was no dearth of the listed items and were being supplied regularly. Red gram is the only problem, but we are distributing all other essentials, including wheat, sugar and even iodised salt as promises he said.
By:Md Nizamuddin
