: Protests and technical glitches marred the opening day of photo sessions in the district in connection with the renewal of ration cards.
Of the 23 centres that were opened in the district, disruptions were reported on Monday from Aluva and Paravur taluks, in addition to Ernakulam city region.
“The lack of trained officials to attend to the applicants and the shortage of cameras led to serpentine queues in these centres. As the eldest woman member of the family would be the card holder, the majority of those affected by the delay were women,” sources said.
At the Priyadarshini Hall in Aluva Town, the drive began with just four camera booths. A network failure was reported a few minutes into the process. Following the breakdown, the crowds began arguing with the officials, unconvinced by the explanations they were given.
The situation worsened when DYFI activists staged a protest march to the venue even as repeated attempts by officials to fix the glitch and resume the drive went in vain.
District supply officer P.E. Asees attributed the disruptions to a shortage of cameras and a procedural lag in identifying the barcodes. “While the process began as per schedule, the cameras did not function properly at different points of time. However, we managed to complete the process for 21,312 applicants on the first day and have made arrangements to accommodate more applicants in the coming days,” he said.
Issues pertaining to the process were reported to the Civil Supplies Minister, who, in turn, issued a direction with regard to completing the process in a time-bound manner.
“Help desks have been set up at each of the centres and from Tuesday onwards, only people having doubts on filling up the application form will be entertained at the desks. Similarly, we have also sought assistance from the CDIT for avoiding the technical glitches during the process,” the official added.
