The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Salem News : Residents lay siege to fair price shop

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Nov 25, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Salem

Residents lay siege to fair price shop

By Our Special Correspondent

SALEM, NOV. 24. Alleging that fair price shops in the city were being controlled by syndicates of thugs and black marketeers, hundreds of residents, mostly women, laid siege to a fair price shop at Velu Lane on Arunachalam Asari Street in Guhai in the city today for more than three hours in protest against the short supply of kerosene against their cards.

They also mobbed the Salem I MLA, S.V. Venkatachalam, who came to solve the issue along with the local councillor. Later the police rushed to the spot. The MLA after pacifying the crowd also stayed in the shop for nearly an hour to supervise the distribution work.

A long wait for them

The cardholders, primarily women claimed that the employees of the shop, run by the Ponni Co-operative Society, used to supply kerosene once in a month.

"Only the first 10 in the queue would normally receive it. The rest would be sent away. We have to stand in the queue from early morning to buy three litres of kerosene," said a woman. About 7,800 litres of kerosene should be distributed to 850 cards in the shop.

The residents also alleged that kerosene from the ration shop was being sold in the black market on which a group of local thugs and persons wielding considerable political clout had been thriving for long.

A litre of kerosene that cost Rs. 8.50 in a fair price shop would be sold at an exorbitant price of Rs. 20 outside.

A woman pointed out that black marketing had become big business in the area.

Whenever kerosene was in demand, the black marketers would bring it to the open market.

Poor people who were deprived of kerosene in ration shops, had to pay more in the black market.

Pledging ration cards

Another way of fleecing the poor was to force them to pledge their ration cards for loans to the tune of Rs. 500.

Those who had taken these cards would use them to buy the essential commodities and sell them in the black market.

"Thus a group of people in this area possesses hundreds of cards and buy commodities at cheaper rates from the fair price shop. Later they sell them in the black market thus earning huge profits," pointed out a resident.

"Despite our repeated pleas, neither the Salem district administration nor the officials concerned have come forward to take necessary action to put an end to this unholy nexus between the thugs and the employees in fair price shops in the city," said a local social activist.

`Govt. supplies less'

However, an employee of the ration shop had a different version to tell.

He claimed that the shop received less supply from the Government. "Against 7,800 litres, we used to receive about 6,800 litres. How do you expect us to honour all the cards," he asked.

A senior official admitted that the problem of short supply existed a few months back in the district, but it was rectified now.

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