‘No ration card, no relief’ still continues, alleges CSRF

Surjit Kumar Dhal,BHUBANESWAR, MAY 22: Even as a fortnight has passed since the extremely severe cyclonic storm Fani wreaked havoc in Odisha and both the government and the civil society organisations are on their toes to accelerate the relief and rehabilitation process, there are a number of lacunae which need to be addressed, alleged ‘Civil Society Responds to Fani (CSRF).

Pointing out the lacunae in the relief distribution process, CSRF member Manas Ranjan Mishra said the affected people who do not possess ration cards have not received any support yet despite the government’s announcement that all affected families would be given Rs 2000 and 50 kg rice irrespective of their possession of ration cards. Such people include large numbers of poor persons, who are left out due to errors in the selection process. He said large families are the worst sufferers as the amount of support they have received remained the same as in the case of small families. He urged the government to provide relief on the basis of household size and household list as per latest government records.