GCC items now at ration depots, MDUs

Visakhapatnam: Girijan Cooperative Corporation (GCC) products will now be accessible to denizens through ration depots and Mobile Dispensing Units (MDU). As a part of a pilot project, Andhra Pradesh government launched it in the city from November along with Tirupati. As many as 40 products of the GCC are made available for the public to pick up from the ration depots and the MDUs. Much ahead of the project, the ration dealers and MDU vehicle operators were facilitated an awareness programme on the GCC products wherein the dealers will get a commission up to 20 percent on sale of such products.

So far, 50 percent of the dealers in the district evinced interest in the sale of GCC products. There are 640 ration depots and 311 MDU vehicles in the district. In order to provide financial aid to the ration dealers, the government is encouraging them to sell GCC products by facilitating 20 percent commission to them. "The facility is available to not just the ration cardholders but also other consumers as well," says G Surya Prakasa Rao, District Civil Supplies Officer.

The prime objective of the project is to make GCC products accessible to the people at their doorstep at a nominal price and provide financial assistance to the ration dealers, he adds. The GCC will sell the products such as tamarind, honey, Araku coffee, Triphala, turmeric powder, herbal shampoos, Rajma pulses, powder, soaps and sharbat, among a plenty of others. Depending on the response, more items would be added to the list.