PDS beneficiaries complain to CM Himanta against fair price agent

A CORRESPONDENT

NAGAON: Several beneficiaries under Public Distribution System (PDS) from Madhyam Chamrali village filed a complaint against one Alim Uddin, a fair price approved agent under Barbali Chamrali Somobai Somitee in Hojai district, at the office of the Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma a couple of weeks back, alleging that the fair price shopkeeper allegedly slashed 2 kilograms PDS rice from each of the beneficiary families and doing so, the shopkeeper siphoned off several lakhs of rupees per month for many years.

Asking for the intervention of Chief Minister Sarma into the entire issue, the villagers stated in the complaint that earlier they had submitted two separate memoranda to the Deputy Commissioner of Hojai and the head of district food, civil supplies and customer affairs department, Hojai in this regard and demanded strict action against the local fair price agent concerned. But the authority concerned of the district headquarters, instead of taking the matter seriously, just sanctioned one quota rice of a government sponsored scheme to a nearby fair price agent for distribution among the complainant beneficiaries.

Significantly, within a week, the authority concerned again permitted the fair price shopkeeper Alim Uddin to distribute the rice among the people of the village for reasons unknown, they stated further in the complaint.

It was also alleged in the complaint that when one Rubel Ahmed objected to giving 2 kg rice from his card, the fair price agent Alim Uddin beat him up and a case in this regard was registered in the local police station in Murajhar.

The government is allocating 35 kg rice per month to a family under Antyodaya Anna Yojana scheme while 5 kg rice per head are being distributed by the government through priority household card as well as the Prime Minister's Garib Kolyan Anna Yojana scheme respectively under National Food Security Act 2013.

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