news details |
|
|
| No ration for scores of Kupwara villages | | People threaten protests against CAPD | | Syed Tahir Bukhari
BARAMULLA, Mar 26: Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution (CAPD) department has failed in its mandate of providing food grains and essential items like Rice, Sugar, Wheat, Atta and Kerosene Oil to consumers in the frontier district of Kupwara in North Kashmir since the last one month.
Residents of dozens of villages in the district are reeling under scarcity of ration. The villages facing shortage of ration include Muqami Shahwali, Fakirpora, Hatmullah, Bahipora, Maidanpora, Gushi, Bumhome, Gulgam, Kowhar, Drugmulla and Inderhama.
"If ration is not made available at the earliest, we will be forced to come on streets against the department," said Nazir Ahmad of Hatmullah. Nazir said people in the Hatmullah village and the adjacent ones are reeling under shortage of ration. He said the ration depots are lying empty and there are starvation-like conditions.
"There is no ration at the depot for the last two weeks. We are forced to purchase ration on high rates from open market. If the CAPD department is not able to provide ration items then there is no utility and significance of such a department," said Sijad Ahmad, a resident of Bumhome.
The residents of these areas visited Deputy Commissioner Office Kupwara, for seeking his personal intervention in making ration
available at depots.
Jahangir Ahmad Pir from Inderhama said that heavy snowfall has made the lives of people virtually hell. He said the district administration authorities have not bothered to visit them despite the fact that there was shortage of essential commodities like Kerosene Oil and LPG cylinders.
"There is no uniform rate for the people getting ration under the Below Poverty Line (BPL) category. The department should issue the fresh rate list so that there is no doubt among the ranks of people more so those living under BPL," said Jahangir.
The residents suggested that CAPD department should have taken consumer's protection into confidence and factors like input costs, wholesale prices, distribution expenses and profit margin of the wholesaler/retailers are taken into account as well. They said that the prices should be fixed.
When contacted Deputy Commissioner Kupwara, Itrat Hussain accepted that there is a shortage of food grains and the issue has been taken up the issue with the concerned minister. The DC said Director CAPD has released 6,000 quintals of rice with the additional quota of 3,000 quintals on its way with the same expected to reach the district by the end of this month. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
