As fair price shops refuse foodgrains, beneficiaries throng MeeSeva centres in Telangana to link aadhaar

HYDERABAD:  In the wake of Fair Price Shops’ (FPS) decision to not distribute food grains to those beneficiaries who haven’t linked their ration and Aadhaar cards with their mobile numbers, scores of cardholders, hailing from various parts of the city, were forced to form serpentine queues at Mee Seva centres and UIDAI’s Aadhaar Seva Kendras on Monday.

The FPS, under the Public Distribution System (PDS), had previously announced that it would stop distributing of food grains to those who were yet to link ration and Aadhaar cards with their mobile numbers from this month onwards, as per the new One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) system.Huma Fathima, a resident of Tolichowki, who waited outside a Mee Seva centre for hours, said: “I stood in line for hours on Monday. When I visited my FPS, the dealer informed me that it was mandatory to link my Aadhaar card with my phone number to get food grains.”

As per the new ONORC system, cardholders will get proper benefits only if they link their Aadhaar and ration cards with their mobile number, post the implementation of electronic Point of sale device (ePoS) at FPS. With the new system in place, entitled beneficiaries will have to show an OTP sent to their mobile number, linked with their Aadhaar card, to receive food grains.

“Citizens can also get their mobile numbers  and Aadhaars linked at all the FPS in the city,” an official source from Mee Seva said. “According to the Civil Supplies Department, all shops are equipped with ePoS, but the shop dealers are not helping customers register their details, as a result of which, many are forced approach Mee Seva centres,” the source said.