THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state will start distributing free rice through 14,250 ration shops from April 1.Priority card holders (yellow and pink cards) can purchase free rice and other items from ration shops from morning till noon, while the non-priority card holders (blue and white cards) can approach the shops in the afternoon. Non-priority card holders will get 15kg of rice over and above their regular ration, as part of the Rs 20,000-crore package announced by the chief minister. Those without ration cards can also purchase grains by giving an affidavit at the PDS shops.
The affidavit should have the name of the senior member in the family along with her or his Aadhaar card number and telephone number. Minister for Food and Civil Supplies P Thilothaman said only five persons would be allowed at the PDS shop at a time. All social distancing norms will be maintained at the shops too, he said.
“Those who are unable to go to the ration shop can take the help of volunteers or proxy buyers,” the minister said. The Food and Civil Supplies department has made massive preparation to complete the distribution in 20 days. The minister said the state was making efforts to keep the supply of grains for the next three months. The distribution of additional 5kg of rice, as announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will start from April 20. For this, 50,000 metric tonnes of rice would be purchased from the central pool.
The government would also give 87 lakh free provision kits to families including those currently under home quarantine, irrespective of their income status. The kit will have rice, wheat, sugar, salt, edible oil, pulses and spices. It will be distributed through the 1,600 Supplyco outlets in the state. National Agriculture Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED) has agreed to supply pulses and sugar for the kit. “It is not an easy job to procure and supply the kits.
Those who do not need the kits can give them up voluntarily,” the minister said. The food and civil supplies department has to procure 2.31 lakh metric tons of grains additionally for the next two months to meet the demand. This is substantially higher than the 1.18 lakh metric tonnes state normally procures from Food Corporation of India godowns.