SEEKING JUSTICE: Villagers staging a dharna in front of the Deputy Commissioner's office in Gulbarga on Monday demanding that the `anamolies' in the distribution of ration cards be set right.

GULBARGA: People from many villages in the district led by the Karnataka Pranta Raitha Sangha (KPRS) staged a dharna in front of the Deputy Commissioner's office here and tahsildars' offices in Shahapur, Aland, Afzalpur and Chincholi on Monday seeking a new survey to issue below poverty line (BPL) and above poverty line (APL) ration cards.

They also sought changes in the norms of the survey to identify BPL families. A large number of women gathered in front of the Deputy Commissioner's office and protested against the decision of the Government to reduce the number of BPL ration cards.

In a memorandum addressed to Deputy Commissioner Pankajkumar Pandey, president of the sangha Maruti Manpade pointed out several anomalies in the survey conducted by the Government to identify BPL and APL families in the district.

Condition

Mr. Manpade said the condition that a family should have an annual income of Rs. 12,000 to be eligible for BPL cards should be changed and the income limit should be fixed at Rs. 25,000. Other conditions such as only families living in huts were eligible for BPL ration cards, and if more than one person in a family was working, BPL card would be denied to it and such families were considered as APL families, should be changed.

The memorandum demanded that the Government include jowar, pulses, and sugar in the public distribution system, and Stree Shakti groups in villages be given permission to open ration shops. Activists of the sangha urged the Government to pay adequate compensation to farmers who had lost their crops owing to floods. They said recovery of crop loans this year should be postponed in the wake of the loss incurred by farmers. The Government should direct the banks to extend new loans to farmers for rabi cultivation. The activists urged the Government to change the norms of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme to provide work to farm workers throughout the year instead of only 100 days.

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