3.86 lakh ration cardholders in Nagpur yet to get foodgrain two days before Diwali

With just two days left for Diwali, most ration cardholders in Nagpur city have still not received their foodgrain. Poor families that depend on the government's free grain face difficulty at festival time.

According to figures, Nagpur city has 3,95,407 ration cardholders in all, including 3,51,257 in the priority group and 44,150 in the Antyodaya group. All these families get free grain every month.

So far, however, ration has reached only 8,877 cardholders, or just 2.23 per cent. The remaining 3,86,530 cardholders, or 97.77 per cent, are still waiting. This shows that the department made no special preparation for Diwali. With no grain, these families are worried about the festival.

Last year, the government gave a "Diwali kit" to poor cardholders in Nagpur district to add to their Diwali cheer. This time, let alone a kit, even the distribution of grain has not been completed.

Under the Antyodaya scheme, families below the poverty line are also entitled to sugar, but they do not receive it regularly. Sugar has not been distributed for several months. This Diwali, each Antyodaya family is to get 1 kg of sugar, but distribution at the shops has not yet begun. The department has started allotment of sugar, yet the stock has not reached the shops. The question being asked is whether the sugar will be distributed after Diwali.

Shalini Gedam, Food Distribution Officer (FDO) for Nagpur (city), said there is no "Diwali kit" this Diwali, but Antyodaya cardholders will be given 1 kg of sugar. According to her, allotment to the shops has begun. She said grain is being given to all eligible beneficiaries in the Antyodaya and priority groups, and ration has so far been distributed to 8,877 cardholders. According to Gedam, the department is working with full promptness.