Many of us didn't receive sugarcane, dhotis, sarees from ration shops: Tiruchy residents
TIRUCHY: A number of ration shops in the district did not have sufficient stock of Pongal gift hampers especially sugarcane, dhotis and sarees, said disappointed residents. They have requested officials to provide the items before Pongal.
Ahead of the Pongal festival, the state government had announced that Rs 1,000 cash as 'pongal gift' along with the gift hampers containing raw rice, sugar (one kg each) and a cane of sugarcane will be distributed to all ration cardholders.
The beneficiaries were also promised free sarees and dhotis. Following the announcement, the Pongal gift hampers and Rs 1,000 cash were distributed to 8.28 lakh ration cardholders via 1280 ration shops in the district from January 11.
The card holders were also given dhotis and sarees on the first day. But for the past two days, the ration shops in various areas including Varaganeri, Mahalakshmi Nagar, Tennur, Babu road, Devathanam, Mela Chinthamani, and Poosari street are out of stock of sugarcane, dhotis and sarees.
S Venkatesan, a resident of Babu road said, "Every year for Pongal, my wife and I wear the dhoti and saree that we received from the nearby ration shop. But this year, when I visited the shop on Friday, the salesman said that there was not enough stock of dhotis, sarees and sugarcanes. I went to the shop the next day too but in vain. We are compelled to buy sugarcane as well."
T Selvaraj, a resident of Poosari street said, "Nearly half the people in our area did not receive sugarcane, dhoti and sugarcane this year."
He added that the government had created confusion among the people regarding the distribution of Pongal gifts from the beginning.
When contacted, an official from the co-operative department said, "According to the beneficiaries announced by the government in the beginning, dhotis and sarees have arrived here. The dhotis and sarees for the second list are yet to arrive. Over 95 per cent of Pongal gift hampers have been sent to shops. Only the supply of sugarcane was slightly delayed."