Lone woman turns up to receive rations

SNS, Kurseong, 27 August 2013: Only a lone woman turned up to receive rations being distributed by the Government through the Food & Supply Department (FSD) at the Block Development Office (BDO) in Kurseong in the midst of the ongoing Hills-wide stir called by the GJMM. 

The trend of distributing ration commodities among the Hills people by the State government in the midst of the GJMM sponsored ongoing Darjeeling Hills bandh is going on. Yesterday, rations were distributed from 11 police stations across Darjeeling Hills and today the distribution of such supplies have been staged from different places, including BDO offices, amidst tight security. 

Meanwhile, at the Kurseong BDO Office, the food and supply department officials had earmarked 15 quintals of rice to be distributed among the public at government subsidy rates since 8 a.m. but even by late evening only one person turned out to avail the facility provided by the government. Hence, only seven kilos of rice was given out of the total of 15 quintals kept at the office for distribution. 

It was learnt that the woman, Mrs S Bal, a tea garden resident near Kurseong Town who came to collect the ration had turned up due to extreme poor condition of her home. As it turned out, she did not have the money to pay for the ration even at government subsidy rates. 

Finally, one of the officials on duty who was looking after the distribution came to her rescue by paying for the seven kilos of rice that she had collected. 

Mrs Bal said: “I am a retired garden worker without pension and my husband is also a retiree and an ailing person diagnosed with sugar problems. I have three sons and that too useless. Hence, I have the added burden of looking after them as well as their children since their wives have also run away with others. 

I had thus out of necessity come to the BDO office to collect rice thinking it was being distributed free of cost by the government and had brought my BPL card along.” The official who paid for the woman’s ration said that no one came throughout the day and the only person who came did not even have money to pay for the rice. 

"Her extremely poor condition touched us hence I paid the bill of Rs 49 for the seven kilos of rice she had collected,” he said. Another FSD official, Mr Bharat Rai, said that all the officials have been sitting here at the BDO office to distribute ration commodities since 8 a.m. but no one came to avail the facility except the poor woman. 

“We wanted the poor people to come and receive the ration being provided at subsidy rates by the government,” he said. Notably, the government is bearing all expenses of trying to distribute such edible supplies to the people in the ongoing Darjeeling Hills bandh but yet there have been few takers to take advantage of the opportunity. 

The government on its part is making full efforts to relieve the poor people affected by the ongoing bandh even bearing the cost of transportation, distribution and arranging security personnel for smooth distribution.