BHUBANESWAR:The BJD on Monday took to the streets demanding restoration of Odisha’s kerosene quota reduced by the Centre.
The party, which took out a motorcycle rally, sought President Pranab Mukherjee’s intervention for restoration of previous quota to meet the requirement of the common people.
“We request your personal intervention in the matter and direction to the Centre for restoration of kerosene allocation to Odisha so as to accommodate all the beneficiaries under National Food Security Act (NFSA), availability of the fuel for institutional supply and to open non-PDS outlets in each district/block/ULB headquarters of the State,” the BJD said in a memorandum addressed to the President. While Odisha was allocated 4 lakh kl of kerosene in 2011-12, it was reduced to 2.92 lakh kl in 2016-17. During 2016-17, the allocation was drastically reduced by 97,428 kl, which is 25 per cent less than the regular allotment, it stated.
The memorandum maintained that present allotment by the Centre is being distributed to 86,16,275 families which covers 3,23,33148 NFSA beneficiaries of the State and the entire list is available on the official website.
BJD said though the Centre has been repeatedly requested to restore the previous kerosene quota, it has not yet been considered. There is also the requirement of kerosene for bulk consumers like hostels, jails, medicals, police stations, marine and agriculture sectors and accordingly, the Centre was requested for enhancement of its quota by 40,000 kl per month, it said.
Minister of State for Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Sanjay Dasburma, who led the motorcycle rally to Raj Bhavan, said despite repeated requests, the monthly quota of the State is being reduced continuously.
He said the State is frequently affected by natural calamities like floods, cyclone and drought during which the demand of kerosene increases manifold. Besides, large number of families are residing in inaccessible hilly terrains of the State where kerosene is required for lighting and cooking.
The Congress also joined the kerosene quota war by announcing that it will launch agitation against the Centre’s decision. “Poor people across the State have been affected by the Centre’s decision to reduce the quota. The party will launch agitation till it is restored,” Congress chief whip in the Assembly Tara Prasad Bahinipati said.