Alappuzha: Thousands of lottery agents and sellers, who are members of Welfare Fund Board, were left out while allocating festival allowance. The list of the beneficiaries were set by excluding the members who had settled all the arrears in lump-sum and renewed their membership. 

The government has declared a festival allowance of Rs 6000 for members of the Welfare Fund Board and Rs 2000 for pensioners. The order for this was released on September 2, while the lottery agents and sellers were directed to settle the arrears and renew membership only from August 30. Even the members who paid the arrears from the prescribed date were not included in the list of beneficiaries for festival allowance. 

During the period of Covid, the lottery department had issued coupons for lottery sellers by considering the financial difficulties. The festival allowances have been dispensed withholding Rs 1,750 of the coupon. 

Kerala Lottery Agents and Sellers Association (INTUC) demanded the government to ensure festival allowance for all members of the Welfare Fund Board.