The Food and Civil Supplies department has decided to introduce a phased distribution of ration supplies to priority and non-priority sections in a bid to balance the heavy load on the e-PoS (electronic point of sale) server which has often disrupted the system.
It has been decided to distribute the commodities for priority ration card holders (Antyodaya Anna Yojana and priority household cards) within the 15th of every month, while the supplies for the non-priority segments (non-priority subsidy and non-priority non-subsidy) will be distributed during rest of the month.
The decision was met with tepid response by ration dealers who feared denying essential commodities to certain sections for the half of each month could destroy the public distribution system.
In a statement, All Kerala Retail Ration Dealers Association (AKRRDA) cautioned that the “mindless” reform is bound to lead to large sections losing their allotted ration owing to various reasons. Urging the department to consult representatives of ration dealers while implementing such reforms, they reiterated their demand for providing 4G SIMs that ensure strong mobile reception and to increase the capacity of the server.
