Karnataka lockdown: Ration card holders wait in queue in Mangaluru

A large number of ration card holders stood in front of the Public Distribution System (PDS) outlet in various parts of Mangaluru to collect the month’s quota of food grains.

The PDS outlets will remain open only from 6 am to 10 am because of the lockdown. As a result, card holders had arrived as early as 5 am to get the foodgrains.

There was a long queue of beneficiaries in front of the PDS outlet at Mannagudda when MLA D Vedavyasa Kamath visited the spot.

On realising that many were waiting in a queue for more than two hours, Corporators Leelavathi and Sandhya made arrangements to supply drinking water and biscuits.

MLA Vedavyasa Kamath said that the police personnel have been directed to ensure not to cause any inconvenience to the ration card holders while returning home after collecting foodgrains.

The ration card holders can furnish their ration card if they are stopped by the police after 10 am. They need not panic as they will be supplied with the foodgrains till the month-end.

Each PDS outlets have 1,000 to 1,500 cardholders. Arrangements have been made to supply foodgrains to 150 to 200 people daily. The Corporator in each ward with a group of volunteers will issue slips for around 200 ration card holders daily to collect the foodgrains. While standing in a queue, people should adhere to Covid-appropriate behaviour, he added.

Hemalatha, who was standing in a queue in one of the PDS outlets said, “Instead of waiting for generating OTP to distribute foodgrains for the card holders, it is better to do away with the OTP system for the time being to help the people. Waiting for OTP delays the entire process. As a result, many do not even get foodgrains and have to return empty-handed and come back again the following day.”

Mohan, another card holder said “with restricted hours due to lockdown, all those who arrive late fail to get the foodgrains.”

The Central government had recently said that ration card holders, covered under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), will get 5 kg of rice or wheat free of cost for two months starting May. This will be in addition to their regular quota of subsidised foodgrains supplied to them. The additional quantity of foodgrain will be distributed under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana (PMGKAY), a scheme launched in March last year to ensure food security for the poor during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and was later discontinued in December.