Date:06/01/2009 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2009/01/06/stories/2009010653750300.htm

Kerala - Kozhikode

Ration dealers seek supply of rice quota

Staff Reporter

‘Centre should end discriminatory attitude’

Call to reduce price of kerosene
Ration dealers allege harassment by authorities

KOZHIKODE: A meeting of the district unit of the All Kerala Retail Ration Dealers’ Association here on Monday urged the Centre to supply the allotted quota of rice for January for above the poverty line (APL) card-holders on an urgent basis.

Association district general secretary T. Mohammed Ali demanded that the Centre reduce the price of rice to be supplied to the APL cardholders this month, as promised by Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar recently.

It was pointed out that the quota of rice to be supplied to the APL cardholders this month was yet to reach the State.

The association appealed to the Centre to end its discriminatory attitude towards the State. It was unfortunate that the quota of rice and wheat for the State was not increased despite a surplus of foodgrain stocks in the country, the association said.

It demanded that the Centre reduce the price of kerosene, along with that of other petroleum products. It also sought restoration of the earlier ration quota of kerosene.

The meeting asked the State government to ensure that the ration dealers were not unduly harassed by officials and the police.