State govt to strengthen public distribution system

SNS, Siliguri, 28 August 2013: The state Food and Supplies Department is planning to strengthen the public distribution system in Darjeeling Hills. The departmental officials are waiting for a relaxation of the bandh in the Hills. 

Though the Food and Supplies Department is under the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), the state government wants to keep full control over the public distribution system with a view to ensure trouble-free distribution of essential commodities to the public under the present circumstances. 

The decision was taken after examining the records from ration dealers from the three sub-divisions in Darjeeling Hills and the trend of lifting materials during the four days after the GJMM announced relaxation of their bandh from 15 August. 

More than 500 ration shops function in the Hills but owing to continuous agitation the public distribution system has collapsed since 29 July. 

But according to a top official of the Food and Supplies Department, almost all consumers collected materials, including allocations due from previous weeks which had not been distributed owing to the shutdown, from ration shops. 

The materials, which were supplied to the ration shops, were exhausted almost as soon as dealers opened their shops. When parties in the Hills are criticising the state and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the state’s plan seems to be to appease the Hill people by distributing adequate food materials, including other essential commodities. 

The North Bengal Development Minister, Mr Gautam Deb, will convene a meeting with officials concerned, including the district magistrate, superintendent of police, district controller of food and supplies, in Siliguri tomorrow to formulate policies for continuing the public distribution system in the Hills. 

The state government officials have come to know that some people had refused to collect ration from police stations and block offices fearing GJMM attack. 

On the other hand, the Food and Supplies Department has taken action against some ration dealers, who allegedly supplied food items to the GJMM secretly for the use of Gorkhaland Personnel during the current shutdown agitation. 

Reacting to the state government’s steps against some ration dealers, the GJMM chief Mr Bimal Gurung in his Facebook post said: “When the Central government passed a Food Security Bill to ensure food for poor people, the state government sealed the public distribution depot in Darjeeling depriving poor people of their right to receive foodstuffs at subsidised rates.”