Dealers urge govt. to extend last date for Feb ration to March 5
Dealers urge govt. to extend last date for Feb ration to March 5
The malfunctioning of the Aadhaar server in Hyderabad has adversely affected the ration distribution system in the State for around a week. Ration dealers have asked the government for an extension of the last date to distribute ration for the month, though with little response.
Only a day is left for the distribution of ration for February. The malfunctioning of the Aadhaar server is a common occurrence after 11 a.m. A consumer has to lay their finger print on the electronic point of sale (ePoS) device five to six times in order to get the one-time password. As a result, the dealers are finding it hard to cater to any more than ten consumers a day.
“This happens every month. We had gone to Hyderabad with Food and Civil Supplies Minister G.R. Anil to get to the root of the issue. We were told that a helpdesk will be set up to resolve these kinds of issues, but nothing has happened so far,” says T. Mohammed Ali, general secretary of the All Kerala Ration Dealers’ Association.
Meanwhile, poor internet connectivity is also troubling the dealers. “Many of us do not get the signal on certain days due to the fault of mobile service providers and are forced to resort to WiFi to carry out the distribution,” says Mr. Ali, adding that the IT department has been unable to provide any solution.
The dealers suggest a simpler technology to facilitate easier ration distribution in the future. With more than 40 lakh consumers yet to get their ration, the dealers have requested the government to extend the last date for February’s ration to March 5.
Mr. Ali with president of the association Johnny Nellore and treasurer Abbobakker Haji had requested the Food and Civil Supplies department to extend the date, but the decision is pending.
