Food and Civil Supplies Minister G.R. Anil said nearly 2.41 lakh Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) ration card holders received Onam kits on Monday.
With this, nearly 5 lakh AAY (or yellow) ration card holders received their entitled kits, he added, indicating nearly a lakh beneficiaries would celebrate Onam without the government’s largesse.
The government had fixed a target of distributing 6,07,691 kits including 5,87,691 for AAY card holders and 20,000 for the residents of welfare institutions including orphanages and old-age homes.
Affirming that no beneficiary would be denied their kits, Mr. Anil said those who have not received the supplies will be provided an opportunity to collect them the next working day. He added that steps have been adopted to distribute kits among AAY card holders in Kottayam following permission granted by the Election Commission in view of the upcoming by-election in Puthuppally.
While pointing out 83% of ration card holders have collected their ration supplies for August, the Minister accused a section of ration dealers of not cooperating with the government’s appeal to run ration outlets for an extended period from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on the Uthradam day on Monday.
Reining in price rise
He also said the Onam fairs conducted by Supplyco, which concluded on Monday, played a significant role in reining in price rise. The district-level fairs recorded sales revenue of nearly ₹7 crore.
Mr. Anil also denied media reports that special kits meant for AAY card holders and welfare institutions were given to people’s representatives including Ministers. The general practice of presenting gift packets containing rebranded Sabari products manufactured by Supplyco to the people’s representatives had paved way for the misinterpretation.
