Odisha: Memorandum to increase monthly rice for persons with disabilities

UMERKOTE: The Association for Welfare of District Disabled Persons, Nabarangpur, on Friday submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik requesting to provide more rice to the Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) of the district.

As per the existing rules, the underprivileged communities are entitled to receive 5 kg of rice from the Government under the NFSA/SFSS scheme. However, according to the association, the said quantity is not enough for the PwDs as they are mostly incapable of earning and depend on their families.

In such situations, the rice gets consumed within around 15 days after which they struggle to make ends meet. Also, some families have more than one disabled person. The association demanded to include such families under Antodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) scheme so as to enable them to receive 35 kg of rice per month including other benefits.

In this regard, the association submitted the memorandum to CM through Nabarangpur Collector Dr Kamal Lochan Mishra. Secretary of the association, Sujit Rath said, “Almost 80 per cent of the PwDs in the district belong to SC&ST communities and are less privileged than PwDs of other states.”