AHMEDABAD, MARCH 25
The Gujarat government will provide food items like wheat, rice, pulses and sugar free of cost to around 60 lakh ration card holding families through fair price shops starting April 1, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said on Wednesday.
The scheme is to ensure that the poor, who depend on daily wages for livelihood, are not affected by the 21-day nationwide lockdown due to the coronavirus outbreak and do not have to purchase food items for April, he said after a meeting in Gandhinagar.
https://twitter.com/CMOGuj/status/1242708075347353605?s=20
Incidentally, senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel had on Tuesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provide free ration to those in need, during the national lockdown.
પ્રજાજોગ સંદેશ #IndiaFightsCorona#GujaratFightsCovid19 pic.twitter.com/URaPsJGN2f
— Vijay Rupani (Modi Ka Parivar) (@vijayrupanibjp) March 25, 2020
“With the entire country under lockdown, Gujarat has made an important decision, that poor families – around 60 lakh families, or 3.25 crore individuals – holding ration cards, will get food items, including 3.5 kg wheat and 1.5 kg rice per person, and 1 kg of pulses, sugar, and salt per family free of cost from April 1,” Rupani said.
The chief minister said his government is concerned about the state’s poor families and will continue to take decisions to ensure they do not face hurdles during the lockdown.
“With works closed for 21 days, poor families earning daily livelihood face great problems. Our sensitive government understands this, and we will take more such decisions in future so such people do not face much hurdle,” he said.
Rupani also requested people to stay indoors for 21 days.
Gujarat has so far reported 38 cases of coronavirus and one death due to COVID-19.
The entire state is under lockdown.
Provide free ration to the needy, Ahmed Patel urges PM
Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel on Tuesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provide free ration to those in need, during the national lockdown.
“In the light of this crisis, I would urge your government to provide free ration to all those in need until the lockdown continues, which will be over and above the provisions of the Food Security Act.
“Until the lockdown, the identification process of beneficiaries may be waived off,” he said in a letter to the Prime Minister.
Patel expressed his concern about the poor, daily wage labourers, farmers and the marginalized. “They will be the biggest suffers in our war against this pandemic,” he said.
He also sought that the allocation of PM-Kisan be tripled and the entire outstanding sum be transferred to all the identified beneficiaries in two tranches.
Further, the government may consider providing similar cash transfer to needy and they may be identified from the pool of Jan Dhan account holders, Patel said in his letter.
Patel also asked the Modi government to create a National Corona Fund with three main objectives – help states recover some of the costs of this pandemic; provide relief to small businesses, farmers & daily wage earners; and fund testing kits, vaccine research, and other necessary innovation.
Gujarat men in khakhi turn saviours for the poor
