Ration dealers give two hoots about timings

Visakhapatnam: Civil supplies minister Prathipati Pulla Rao found the several irregularities in supply of essential commodities through fair price shops during his surprise checks here on Wednesday. The minister was shocked at the way dealers were running the outlets and the number of beneficiaries who were actually receiving the rations.

• Civil supplies minister visits three shops, but not even one was opened before 10 pm
• In one shop, only 269 of total 394 beneficiaries are taking ration goods
• Minister orders stringent action against officials responsible monitoring and review of shops as well as errant dealers

He noted that there was no administrative control over the fair price shops. While all the fair price shops in the state are to open at 8 am to 12 noon and 4 pm to 8 pm, Pulla Rao who visited a to the shop No. 173 in Ramnagar along with civil supplies department director Ravi Babu, found the shop remaining shut even at 11 am. When the minister’s assistant called up the dealer, he said he was far away and would arrive at the shop in an hour. He later got the shop opened by breaking open the locks.

Expressing his anger over the slackness of ration dealers in maintaining timings, Pulla Rao directed the civil supplies director to take action against those who violate the rules regarding timings. Speaking on the occasion, the minister said he found that few dealers in Vizag were observing timings prescribed by the government.

Earlier, the minister and officials visited another fair price shop, No. 171, in the same locality at 10 am. The dealer was just opening the shop as the minister was reaching the spot. During the surprise check, the minister found that 31 per cent of the ration card holders in the shop are not taking ration.

According to the official records, 394 beneficiaries are supposed to receive ration from the shop but only 269 beneficiaries were taking commodities. Later, the minister inspected the shop No 179, which was opened at 10.45 am. The minister found that the commodities are not being released from the shop.

Expressing his deep displeasure over the state of affairs and apathy of officials in monitoring and reviewing of functioning of ration shops, he directed the senior officials to take stringent action against the lax officials and errant ration dealers.

“It is very sad that the government is spending Rs 700 crore to provide essential commodities to the poor people across the state but the dealers are not following timings and rules. The officials are not monitoring and visiting periodically to check compliance to rules. Senior officials have been directed to take immediate action on the officials and violators," he told the media.

Pulla Rao also visited Visakhapatnam Railway station and checked whether eatables are sold at MRP prices. He found several irregularities in the retail sale of packed eatables. The minister also found some bacteria in the packed food. He directed the legal metrology officials to take immediate action against the contractors.

Later, the minister visited one of the prime business house in the city CMR Shopping Mall and found the operators of the food court in the mall collecting three times over MRP from the consumers. Initially, an official said the minister had directed the officials to levy penalty on the food court in the CMR Shopping Mall till December, this year.

The minister also called upon the people to prosecute the food court operators for collecting high prices and not selling food at MRP. However, the officials, in the second official release, deleted the minister’s surprise check in the CMR Shopping Mall and asked media to take revised press release only.