THANJAVUR / TIRUCHY: Glitches in the transition to the biometric Point of Sales (PoS) machines in fair price shops affected distribution of essential commodities and triggered protests in many places in Tirubuvanam on Tuesday.
Work of installing biometric PoS machines started in Thanjavur district a week ago. Since there were teething troubles like glitches in their functioning and difficulty in accessing the network, distribution of commodities was affected.
On Tuesday, irate public in Tirubhuvanam who could not get their commodities resorted to road block on the Kumbakonam-Mayiladuthurai road paralysing traffic for hours. The Tashildar of Kumbakonam and police assured early redress following which the protest was called off. Similarly, residents of Ukkadai near Ammapettai picketed the fair price shop as commodities were not issued for the last three days.
When contacted, officials of Civil supplies and consumer protection department told TNIE, “The problem peaks from 10 am to 12 noon when the software is being installed and tested from Chennai”, the official added. With timing of ration shops curtailed up to 2 pm due to COVID-19 pandemic there was a problem in distribution. As the shops are being run by the cooperative department, efforts are on to revert back to the day long operations for smooth distribution of essentials. The issues in shifting to the biometric system would be sorted out by the month end, officials added.
TIRUCHY
The biometric authentication has created a chaotic environment at several ration shops across Tiruchy district, with public getting frustrated over the slow connectivity. There are 1224 ration shops across the district.
“The waiting time which is usually 30-40 mins has grown to 3-4 hours because employees keep saying that the server is down. If the infrastructure is not available, what is the point in introducing the system,” wondered Govindan of Ariyamangalam. On Tuesday, over 10 audio clips of PDS employees were shared on social media in which they are heard pleading for help.