Fair Price Shop dealers threaten strike from today

Khammam: Fair Price Shop (FPS) dealers have threatened to go on indefinite strike from Thursday to press their demands. The strike may impact ration, particularly the Re 1 rice to the poor.

The dealers, despite the appeal by the Civil Supplies Department officials, failed to pay through demand draft for procuring commodities meant for distribution to the cardholders.

In a statement released here, the district unit of Telangana Ration Dealers Association Mohammad Rafi said in protest against the government failing to redress the grievances of the dealers, all the FPS in the district would remain shut indefinitely.

The government, he said, had stubbornly refused to redress the grievances of the dealers though they had been striving to distribute subsidised commodities to the poor. A total 1,200 dealers would participate in the strike.

The dealers would take out a rally from Pavilion Grounds to the District Collectorate and organise ‘Vanta Varpu,’ he said. He urged the representatives of various people’s organisations and leaders of political parties to extend their support for the strike.