FALLING IN LINE: Consumers of cooking gas line up before a gas agency to produce ration card following enforcement of new norms by the authorities. — PHOTO: RAJU V.

VIJAYAWADA: It is no more vague. The link between ration card and supply of cooking gas is now clear and official.

Whenever a consumer calls up his or her gas agency for placing an order for a refill these days, a standard reply comes from the staff of the agency: "Please visit our office with your ration card, original document and passbook. Only then we can book your order."

Long queues

Left with no alternative, consumers are leaving all their daily chores behind and rushing to the gas agency to produce the ration card, if they have one. Long queues of consumers in front of the offices of almost all cooking gas agencies are a common sight during the past few days.

While in the case of pink cardholders, the details of ration card are being entered into the consumer database maintained by the agencies, in respect of white cardholders the agencies are also collecting any leftover kerosene coupons.

Though civil supplies officials have for long played down the rule, which came into force on the basis of a letter written by the Commissioner for Civil Supplies to all district Collectors on July 30, they are now maintaining that it has become necessary in the wake of unearthing of several incidents of diversion of cooking gas cylinders meant for domestic use (usually of 14.2 kg variety) for commercial purposes. "Verification of ration card is the only near-perfect mechanism to avoid pilferage of fuel, whether it is cooking gas or kerosene," says Joint Collector S. Suresh Kumar.

He agrees that the above poverty line families may not buy rice, wheat, sugar and kerosene, the most commonly supplied items by using their ration cards. "But supply of cooking gas also forms part of public distribution system," he maintains.

If that's the case, what about a large number of above poverty line families who have not bothered to obtain a pink ration card when it was issued last year, realising little that it would be insisted upon in future for supply of gas cylinder? What is the fate of those who still do not want a card at all? Mr. Suresh Kumar says the district administration is contemplating opening a designated photography location (DPL) centre in the city to issue new pink cards to those who have not taken them before. The details will be announced shortly. But in the case of those who do not want a card at all, it would be enough if they submit to their gas dealer a declaration, endorsed by the assistant supply officer concerned, stating that they do not have a card and do not intend to have one.

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