` 1 per kilo rice: Beneficiaries rise

On the backdrop of the government announcing rice at Rs one per kilo for BPL card holders as well as Anthyodaya cards, there has been an increase in numbers of applications for the cards.

As many as 2,170 members have applied for the cards till end of June, out of whom 300 have sought APL cards and the remaining have sought BPL cards.

Residents of rural and urban areas have been thronging respective offices to obtain the cards to get the benefit of rice at Rs one. However, the officers at Food and Civil Supplies department say that the new applicants would not be benefitted with the scheme. They would be eligible for the scheme only after they obtained a card and their name gets included in the list of beneficiaries.

The district administration has meanwhile taken appropriate measures to launch the scheme successfully on July 10. It has already submitted the list of beneficiaries under the BPL and Anthyodaya cards.

In all, the district has 2,86,102 ration card holders out of which 35,820 Anthyodaya card holders and 2,03,059 BPL card holders. A total of 69,990 quintal of rice is required to implement the scheme to benefit Anthyodaya and BPL card holders. 

Previously, the district required 40,000 quintal of rice for Anthyodaya and BPL cards. But now, with the increased demand due to the scheme, it now requires an additional about 30,000 quintal of rice.

According to the project, a family of one would get 10 kg of rice, family of two will be receiving 20kg rice and if the family comprises of more than three, they would get 30 kg of rice.  The district has 476 fair price shops and a total of 2,38,879 (Anthyodaya and BPL cards) families would be benefitted from the scheme.