Fair Price Shops to be Closed for Three Days Starting Tomorrow; Know why Your PDS Dealer Won't Distribute Foodgrains

The free foodgrain being distributed under the National Food Security Act reaches your home through Fair Price Shops/Public Distribution System (PDS) dealers. These dealers play a crucial role as a medium to help reach the subsidized ration to you. However, for the next three days, you won't be able to receive ration from these shops if you are a ration card holder. The All India Fair Price Shop Dealers' Federation has announced a three-day strike in support of their 11-point demands from the Union Government.

"We have already intimated about our viability getting bad to worse and our very sustenance is at a stake. All our requests, reminders and pleadings to the Union government for kindly looking into our problems and taking remedial measures have been in vain. We are hoping against hope and kept our fingers crossed for the Union Budget, 2023-2024 which might bring some good news and relief for the PDS and the consumers. We particularly expected that the budget would be a pathfinder for arresting the spiralling prices of essential items," said the AIFPSDF.

It said that the federation was expecting the government to resume PM Ggarib Kalyan Anna Yojana but that also did not happen. "We particularly expected ... the recommendation of the World Food Program appointed by the same Union Government for revision of margin of the fair price Shop dealers which had been submitted as early in February 2020 would be implemented and our prayers for the supply of pulses, edible oil and sugar at fair prices through Fair Price Shops to arrest the spiralling prices of these commodities would be considered but all our hopes have been belied and instead of bringing relief to the consumers belonging to the middle and lower middle class, prices of demands have been cut down for the benefit for those who have plenty," it added.

The federation further said that it has no 'other option, but to go ahead with our already announced program in the form of ration bandh and PoS bandh on 7th, 8th and 9th February 2023 followed by Parliament march on 22nd March 2023 for pressing our 11 Point demands'.

"We assure all our cardholders that there will be no disruption in supply and we are committed to ensuring distribution on all other days of the month working overtime if needed with the permission of the state governments," it said.