KAMAREDDY: The Kamareddy district administration has started an innovative programme to encourage ration card holders to donate some of the rice they get from the PDS shops to those persons who do not have a ration cards. As part of this initiative, the officials concerned have arranged drums at all the ration shops in the district, in which people can leave the rice they wish to donate.
The authorities would further collect the foodgrain and distribute it to those belonging to the weaker sections of the society. It has to be remembered that even though the State government is providing free rice to all the white ration card holders, there are many, especially those who do not have ration cards, who are struggling to earn their daily bread. Though Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao recently announced that the government would provide free rice to those families that do not possess ration cards, the officials have not yet started implementing the same, as a result of which a number of families, with no ration cards, are left in the lurch.
According to sources, scores of such people are visiting their respective Mandal Revenue Offices (MRO) daily to enquire about the free-rice scheme and when it will start. Though some people turned good samaritans during these trying times, it is reportedly not enough to meet the needs of all poor people. It was after noticing all these that Kamareddy Collector A Sharath, along with the Revenue Department officials, initiated the new programmes to encourage ration card holders to voluntarily donate some part of their rice to the needy families.
According to sources, the local officials will prepare a list of eligible beneficiaries and the same will be circulated among all people’s representatives and they, in turn, will distribute the collected rice to the poor people equally. While explaining the scheme, Kamareddy Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) K Rajendra Kumar told Express that officials managed to collect around 300 quintals of rice from the Kamareddy revenue division, of which 250 quintals has already been distributed. With this, those migrant labourers in the division who do not have ration cards would get benefits similar to those with white cards, the collector said and added that many ration card holders felt that by donating some rice they are fulfilling their social responsibility.
AN OUT-OF-THE-BOX INITIATIVE
As part of the initiative, the officials concerned have arranged drums at all the ration shops in the district, in which people can leave the rice that they wish to donate to the poor. The authorities would then
collect the foodgrain and distribute it to those belonging to the weaker sections of the society