Bankura ration dealers shut shops

Bankura: Chief minister Mamata Banerjee's personal intervention, which was followed by a video conference on Tuesday by chief secretary Basudeb Bandopadhyay and food minister Jyotipriyo Mullick with all district magistrates, couldn't weed out the brewing discontent over the confusion surrounding digital and old ration cards.
To make matters worse, all 1,119 ration dealers in Bankura shut shops on Tuesday in protest against attacks on them and their businesses by people angry at omission of their names from the list of people who are entitled for digital ration cards.
Responding to the CM's announcement that those who have not received digital ration cards would be entitled to collect ration against their old ones, the Ration Dealers' Association of Bankura asked the government to issue a beneficiaries' list and ensure adequate supplies for all on the list. There are 36, 29,741 old card holders in Bankura, of whom 25,00,869 have received digital cards. Many of the 11 lakh-odd card holders, yet to receive digital cards, found that their names were not on the list of prople supposed to receive digital card. To pacify the agitators, a renewed exercise to enlist all those entitled to be included as beneficiaries of the rationing system got underway from Monday.
Association secretary Gurupada Dhank said, "Even before we open our shops, dealers are being dragged out of their houses and beaten up. Others are regularly being abused on way to their shops. False allegations are also being hurled against them. Our family members are also hesistant of stepping out of home. When we open our shops, we are being gheraoed and questioned why ration supplies were reaching the hands of the well off." Gurupada added, "Already 26 ration shops have been locked up by protesters in the district. Another 549 dealers are fearing reaching their shops because of constant threats. We can't continue in business in this situation. So, we conveyed to the Bankura DM through the district food controller that we won't open our shops till the government issues a list of beneficiaries entitled to collect ration."
Food minister Jyotipriyo Mullick said, "Only on Monday, the CM declared who is behind the trouble. The CPM is misleading people over distribution of digital ration cards." As announced by the CM, till digital ration cards are distributed to all entitled beneficiaries, rations will be distributed to holders of all old or existing cards."
On issuing a list of beneficiaries, the minister said, "We will issue the list by Wednesday." Bankura DM Moumita Basu said, "The administration will display a list of beneficiaries entitled to avail rations in front of each ration shop." In response, Gurupada of the Ration Dealers' Association said, "Let them first issue the list and display it. then we will see." The association, however, stuck to its decision of keeping ration shops closed from Wednesday.