The government’s Onam food kit disruption has been partially hit with an unexpected server glitch disrupting the drive in several ration outlets in the State.
The snag has persisted in various parts since the first day of the distribution on August 23. Many ration outlets reported similar complaints with ration cardholders forced to wait for long until the responsive electronic point of sale (e-PoS) machines resumed functioning on Thursday.
The government had prepared a distribution schedule wherein Antyodaya Anna Yojana cardholders (yellow cards) were supposed to receive their kits by Wednesday. While Priority Household cardholders (pink card) will be allotted kits from Thursday till August 27, the kits for Non-Priority Subsidy cards (blue) will be distributed from August 29 to August 31 and those for the Non-Priority Non-Subsidy cards (white) from September 1 to 3.
With the technical hitch affecting the programme, ration dealers remain pessimistic on the prospects of timely distribution.
Attributing the problem to ration beneficiaries arriving in large groups to collect their kits, Food and Civil Supplies Minister G.R. Anil said efforts were being made to optimise the server capability by regulating distribution.
Nonetheless, 14.5 lakh ration cardholders had collected their kits until 6.45 p.m. on Thursday. While 5.28 lakh people received the kits during the first two days, over 9.2 lakh collected their kits on the third day.
While specific days have been allotted for each ration groups, the distribution drive would be held in a flexible manner, Mr. Anil said. People would be allowed to collect kits even on days other than designated dates, subject to availability of kits at the respective outlets.
