Coimbatore: Municipal administration minister S P Velumani on Monday launched distribution of the special Pongal gift package and a cash incentive of Rs 2,500 to rice cardholders in the district.
Of the 10.11 lakh cardholders eligible for the gift, 1,65,587 received it on the first day.
Velumani said the state government allotted Rs 269.83 crore – Rs 252.96 crore to distribute Rs 2,500 and Rs 16.87 crore for the gift hampers – for Coimbatore. “People are yet to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic and the initiative will help them celebrate the festival,” he said.
The gift hamper contains Rs 2,500, 1kg sugar and rice, sugarcane, 20g cashew nuts and raisins, and 5g cardamom along with a sari and dhoti. “This year, the state government increased the dole from Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,500 and instead of two pieces of sugarcane, a full cane was given,” said an official from the office of the district supply officer. “To prevent crowding in front of ration shops, tokens were distributed to the cardholders, so as to accommodate 200 people a day. The hamper will be distributed till January 12. Those who fail to collect it by then can get it on January 13.”
“Instead of employing the biometric process, which is time-consuming, the hampers will be given after scanning smart ration cards. When we were distributing ration products by scanning smart cards, we could accommodate 300 to 400 people a day. Going by that number, we are confident of distributing the hampers to 80% of people within four days,” the official said.
Several beneficiaries had gathered in front of ration shops to receive the hamper. M Somasundaram of Puliyakulam said he had reached the shop at 9am but could get the hamper only at 1pm. “I am a mason and had taken half-day leave to get the hamper. Now, I will have to apply for a full-day leave. The inconvenience would have been avoided if the officials had planned it properly,” he said.
Crowding at shops might fuel the spread of the coronavirus, said R Sherin.