THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With just a day left for Thiruvonam, the state government finds itself in an unenviable situation as the much-touted Onam kits are yet to reach most of the beneficiaries. Only 2.60 lakh out of 5.87 lakh yellow ration card holders across the state have so far received the free kits, official sources said, attributing the delay to a technical glitch in the network.
Food and Civil Supplies Minister G R Anil said on Sunday evening that the kits have reached all the 14, 257 ration shops in the state. On Monday, the first Onam, the ration shops will distribute them to yellow card holders. The shops will remain open from 8am to 8pm without break, he said.
Ration shops started distributing the kits on Sunday morning, but soon a technical snag in the E-POS system hampered the entire process. Several customers had to go home empty-handed across the state. The technical error was resolved by 10.30am, following which kit distribution was resumed.
Besides yellow card holders, 74,000 inmates of welfare institutions are also eligible for the free kits.
Anil said distribution of kits in this category was completed in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram and Kozhikode districts by Sunday afternoon.
‘Onam kits supplied in all 136 tribal hamlets’
The civil supplies officials have been on the field over the last few days, almost round the clock, distributing the kits to inmates of welfare institutions, he said. “We have supplied Onam kits in all the 136 tribal hamlets. By Monday, we hope to complete kit distribution.
I can proudly claim that the LDF government’s promise to intervene in the market to curb inflation has met with success. We have been witnessing heavy rush at Supplyco’s district Onam fairs,” the minister said.
Last year, free Onam kits were distributed to nearly 90 lakh beneficiaries that cost the state government Rs 500 crore. Reeling under severe financial crisis, the LDF government decided to limit the kits only to the yellow card holders under the Antyodaya Anna Yojana.
The move drew sharp criticism from the Opposition. The total collection at the civil supplies department’s Onam fairs has touched Rs 2.50 crore, the minister said. Of this, Rs 1.09 crore was collected from the sale of subsidy items and the rest through sale of non-subsidy items.