Alappuzha: During the Covid time, not all eligible families got the ration provided by the Central Government. In November alone, 1.98 lakh families did not receive ration, according to the data from the Aadhaar-based PDS. An average of 1.5 lakh to 1.8 lakh cardholders did not get the ration in the previous months either.
It is not clear whether people did not claim the ration or the government did not deliver it to the ration shops on time. Most of the items under the central scheme reach the shops by the middle of the month. So those who come for the ration early in the month do not get it and some are not ready to go to the ration shop twice.
The Centre provides 5 kg of food grains free of cost to each member of the yellow and pink cards. The yellow card holders receive 35 kg of items per month and each member of the pink card receives 5 kg of grains for Rs 2 besides the regular ration.
Some people avoid the free grains as they already have enough. Out of 91 lakh cardholders in the state, 39,57,275 are eligible for the free ration. Of these, 37,58,374 cardholders claimed in November. The free ration distribution was fixed until November 30 but extended for another four months due to the continuing threat of Covid-19.
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