Include ration dealers in list of Covid frontline workers: TSFC to govt 

HYDERABAD:  The Telangana State Food Commission (TSFC) has directed the State government to recognise ration dealers as frontline workers and take a decision on enabling third-party authentication to distribute ration. The Commission pointed out that ration dealers have been  working selflessly during the pandemic for implementing the government’s welfare schemes.

Recently, the Telangana State Ration Dealers Welfare Association (TSRDWA) apprised the Commission that as many as 55 ration dealers have succumbed to the dreaded virus. The Association urged the Commission to direct the State government to identify them as frontline workers and provide them with vaccines.

TSRDWA president Naikoti Raju demanded that `50 lakh ex gratia be provided to ration dealers who died during the pandemic. He also asked the government to enable insurance schemes to the ration dealers. Meanwhile, employees of the Civil Supplies Department have also demanded that they be recognised as frontline workers.