CHENNAI: Chief Minister MK Stalin on Tuesday commenced the distribution of Pongal gift hampers worth Rs 1,296.88 crore to over 2.15 crore family cardholders and Sri Lankan Tamils at rehabilitation camps. Each hamper has 21 essential items including sugarcane, raw rice, jaggery, cashew, resins, moong dal, ghee, wheat flour, and salt.
At the Secretariat, Stalin presented the hampers to 10 families. Ministers I Periyasamy, R Sakkarapani, M Subramanian, and PK Sekar Babu, Chief Secretary V Irai Anbu, and other senior officials were present on the occasion. To avoid crowding at ration shops, family cardholders are being given tokens mentioning the date and time to collect the hampers.