NE NEWS SERVICE
CHENNAI, APRIL 2
People flocked PDS outlets to receive Rs 1,000 cash assistance and essential commodities including rice and cooking oil free of cost across Tamil Nadu as authorities put their best foot forward to implement social distancing by giving tokens in advance to beneficiaries.
After Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami has announced a Rs 3,280 crore relief package on March 24 which includes cash to ”rice” ration card holders, and essential commodities such as rice, dhal, wheat, and sugar, to all categories of cards, free of cost for the month of April, authorities began the distribution exercise today.
ஊரடங்கு காலகட்டத்தில் பொதுமக்களுக்கு உதவும் வகையில் @CMOTamilnadu அறிவித்தபடி, நியாயவிலை கடைகளில் பொதுமக்களுக்கு விலையில்லா பொருட்களுடன் ரொக்கம் ரூ. 1000 விநியோகத்தை கோவை குனியமுத்தூர் சுகுணாபுரத்தில் உள்ள நியாயவிலை கடையில் துவக்கி வைத்தேன். pic.twitter.com/4gZUJ57sFh
— SP Velumani – Say No To Drugs & DMK (@SPVelumanicbe) April 2, 2020
In Coimbatore, the Municipal Administration and Rural Development Minister S.P. Velumani inaugurated the distribution of free ration and cash assistance at the PDS outlet operated by the Kuniamuthur Primary Agriculture Cooperative Society on Thursday. The minister also inspected the temporary vegetable markets established at Ukkadam bus station to verify whether the people maintaining mandatory social distancing, says a DIPR release.
Though circles were drawn in front of PDS outlets to regulate people and ensure social distancing, serpentine queues of men and women could be seen in front of almost all shops in the State.
Employees of the ration stores donned masks and hand sanitisers were also made available in a number of shops. Tokens specifying the date and time of distribution were already distributed to a large number of beneficiaries to avoid crowd.
Card holders said they received rice, dhal, wheat, cooking oil and sugar from the ration outlets. Chairs and ”shamiana” shelters were put up in quite a few shops in some suburban localities where there were adequate open space to faciliate people to sit while on the queue.
The state follows universal Public Distribution System under which people have the option to choose rice [green] or other categories of ration cards like sugar [white]. While commodities are sold at a very low cost like Rs 25 for a litre of palm oil, 20 kg rice is distributed for free.
Now, as part of lockdown mitigating measures, all commodities are distributed free for this month. The Chief Minister had said that auto drivers, construction workers and registered platform vendors will also get a special assistance of Rs 1,000.
